My Only Sunshine
by GlaszEyedMelanie
Summary: After leaving Lima and Blaine years ago, Kurt has finally made a life for himself only to have his past trying to tear him down. How does he handle his new career as an actor with the demons and memories of his old life? Way better summary inside. Rated M for a reason - you've been warned. To ease your worries: Blaine is NOT the bad guy.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: My Only Sunshine  
Pairing: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel  
Rated: M – For smut in later chapters, and a fairly specific rape scene that will also come later. You've been warned.  
Summary: Kurt Hummel is an up and coming actor, haunted by ghosts from his past. He and Blaine broke up during Blaine's senior year, and he hasn't spoken to anyone from Lima since. Now that his ghosts keep popping up in the new life he's trying to establish, how does he handle it?**

**Chapter 1**

Kurt Hummel's life was never easy. Calm at some points, and even boring at others, but never would he classify it as easy. Most gay kids could probably say the same. High school is just that moment in the lives of everyone where you're just there to get out.

Of course, it makes it easier when you have a support system behind you. It makes getting out of bed just a little less difficult and it makes living worth something. He'd had a support system back in Lima. A really, _really_ good one. A proud father, caring step-mom, protective brother, a handful of great friends, and the best boyfriend anyone could ever ask for.

He'd left that behind a while ago, 3 and a half years to be exact, and his life was slowly but surely starting to form into a bigger and brighter chapter that was just waiting to be grasped a hold of and given the treatment it deserved.

That's why the blue-eyed man found himself in yet another drafty concert hall, auditioning for a part that was usually only performed by brawnier men. Kurt knew he wouldn't get it. Really, who wanted to watch a boy pretend to be in love with a girl who he himself couldn't even begin to fathom being romantically involved with?

He certainly didn't.

So, even as he gave his monologue, he could already feel the fingers of disappointment tickling at the back of his mind like a well-known nightmare.

"Thank you, we'll um . . . call you in a few days to let you know." The woman sat in the middle of the cast crew spoke into the microphone. Kurt simply nodded before going backstage to gather his things.

Why did he keep insisting to audition even though he knew he'd get turned down? Was it just the hope that maybe someday he'd finally be recognized, or was it that he didn't have anywhere else to perform so once a month he indulged himself with a performance for the small group of casting directors?

"I wouldn't expect a call-back if I were you." A voice spoke suddenly as he exited the door. Kurt whipped his head around to find a willowy woman in about her late thirties with blonde hair in an elegant bun. Her mouth was drawn, and her cheekbones almost gaunt, although there was a smirk on her painted lips.

"I wasn't expecting one." He snapped before taking off down the hall, ignoring the sound of her heels on the stone floor as she followed him.

When he was almost out to his car, with her still following him, he'd had enough. "Can I help you?" He asked moodily, unlocking the vehicle quickly and fingering the phone in his pocket incase this woman was a crazy psychopath kidnapper. In New York, you never knew.

"I don't know." She said simply, that smirk still on her lips. "Can you?"

He couldn't help the glare that managed to work itself on his features. It'd been a long day, and a condescending woman was not what he necessarily wanted to deal with right now.

"Calm down, I'm not here to start a fight. My name's Serena."

"Kurt." Was the replied greeting.

"I know."

"You do?"

Her smirk grew as she took out a card from the small clutch she carried and handed it to the slightly wary male.

"Serena Malloy, talent scout." He read off, his eyes slowly coming back up to meet hers. "Talent scout?"

"And that's why I'm here. A little birdie told me that you might be around, auditioning for some local production."

"I don't think I understand."

"I want you to audition for me. Well, no. Not really. You've already auditioned. I like your talent Kurt. But honestly, I'm not talking about your tweeting around singing, as you're rumored to do. Acting is a different story. There's this underlying depth to you, Kurt Hummel, and I feel like we could go a long way. I'm not denying that you're incredibly talented in music, although from what I hear you're not into that anymore, and maybe I could find somewhere for your talent in that too, but right now I want to focus on movies."

"Movies?"

"Allow me to manage you, Kurt, and you're going to be a movie star."

* * *

That's the story on how Kurt Hummel got his "big break" so to speak. Of course he wasn't that big yet, but as Serena promised, he was getting there.

The paychecks were good, allowing him to decorate his new apartment in Los Angeles just as elaborately as he liked, and of course go on shopping sprees that would scare Rebecca Bloomwood. It was different, but he had decided early on that different was what he needed. A chance to step out and be the confident man that he was and own it, because now he could without risking a slushy facial or being thrown in a dumpster. He was a man now, not the stupid, naïve boy he'd been in high school.

More people started noticing him too. It started with one simple girl coming up and asking for a picture and autograph while he tried to get his morning coffee. It'd spurred a few others to come up and ask even though they didn't exactly know what he was famous for. After that it was common that at least once a day someone would come up to talk to him whenever he went out. Thankfully he'd only had one run-in with the paparazzi, but Serena told him repeatedly that at the rate he was progressing, it would be worse.

Girl fans weren't the only ones giving him attention and when he came out, (ironically, for the second time) even more guys started flashing him flirty smiles. He had some flings, none lasting over a few weeks. It was weird, doing the whole boyfriend thing with someone other than . . . _Him_.

A sharp jolt to his shoulder caused him to jump out of his thoughts, turning a glare toward the practically sickly hand that had pushed him.

"Earth to Kurt Hummel." She muttered, typing something out quickly on her phone before turning her attention back to the irritated brunette. "Come on. The interview starts at noon and I'd like to get there a little early so we can pick the seats."

"Why can't we just have it here, where it's nice and comfortable and I don't have to move?"

She snorted, "This way you won't look like a lazy bum."

Reluctantly he hauled himself off of his couch and followed her out, down to where the town car was waiting to take them to the clichéd coffee shop that Kurt frequented. It was only a 10 minute walk from his apartment, making him wonder why on earth Serena insisted on taking the car in the first place.

By the time they got there the interviewer from People magazine was expected to be there soon. The newly-found star and his agent quickly made their way into the cozy shop to order a coffee and find a fairly secluded spot. It was only a short while later until a professional woman in slacks and a pale pink blouse walked in, a small smile on her face. When she spot the duo she made her way over, taking the seat across from them, sticking out her hand. Kurt shook it with a small smile of his own.

"What an adorable place. It's nice to finally meet you, Kurt. I'm Therese."

"The pleasure's mine."

"Such a gentleman; why don't we go ahead and get this started with?" With a nod from the agent she took out a small recorder along with a pad of paper. "August 14, Therese Jones, interview with actor Kurt Hummel. Thank you so much for allowing me to interview you today. As far as I know this is your first official one, right?"

"Yep, that's right. I don't understand what everyone has been ranting about though, this doesn't seem too bad." With a chuckle he replied.

"Just wait until I get to the good stuff," She replied with a wink. "How are you taking to the city life?"

"Well it's different, but a good different. When you come from such a small town like I did it takes some adjusting. It's different from New York even."

"How small of a town are we talking about?"

"Have you even heard of Lima, Ohio? Usually no one but people around there have. There was one public high school, and a population of about 40 thousand."

"You've said before that you were bullied pretty seriously in high school. How bad did it get?"

Kurt stiffened at the question, fidgeting with his sweater as he took a sip of the drink slowly cooling in front of him, trying to think of an answer. "It was enough to make me want to leave that town forever."

"You don't ever plan on going back?"

He bit the inside of his cheek, "No."

"How about New York; what kinds of things did you do there?"

"School mostly. A really great friend of mine moved with me but during our freshman year . . . I mean . . . things happen. People change."

"You sound pretty bitter about it."

"I'll manage." He replied wittily with a slight smirk.

"And that's where you were picked up to try for a part in your recent movie?" She asked after jotting some things down.

"Yeah, after yet another failed attempt at acting there."

"I bet they're upset they didn't pick you up first, huh?" Therese happily jotted something else down.

"Let's hope so."

"A big laugh in their faces now, right?"

"I suppose." Kurt agreed, taking another drink while glancing out of the corner of his eye at Serena who was back on her phone typing out an email.

"So let's hear a little bit about Kurt Hummel's mysterious love life." Her lips turned into a mischievous smile that made Kurt's stomach drop.

"That might be a little difficult, seeing as I don't have one."

"What about in general? Are you a romantic?"

"I used to be." He said slowly.

"Something changed that?"

"Someone."

After a few more questions that would be included in the trivia section (what's your favorite color: _gold_, desert: _Ben & Jerry's coffee crunch_, least favorite word: _queer_, or who would you most like to meet: _Lady Gaga, of course_) the interview wrapped up with more thank-you's.

Clicking off the recorder and shoving everything back in her bag she stood with a smile. "I've already seen the spread, it looks absolutely fantastic. Enjoy the rest of your day, and again thank you so much." And with that she left with a wave.

"That went well for your first interview, don't you think?"

Kurt just hummed, finishing his coffee, wishing he was back in bed.

* * *

His second movie was different than his first. Instead of a supporting character he now had a lead – a huge success for a starting actor. His own trailer, people catering to his every beck and call, newly found fans, and more and more interviews, this time on actual TV shows instead of just magazines. Slowly but surely he was mastering the art of deflection, although the interviewers and talk-show hosts also knew how to counter. It was almost like chess, beating your opponent until the first one to relent lost. Kurt Hummel was stubborn though, and almost never gave up.

But the press was nothing compared to actually filming the movie. He wasn't afraid to admit that the movie he had first worked on was nothing compared to this. The sets were huge, and they even got to travel around the world in order to film some scenes. It was the first time Kurt had ever been to Europe, and even as bittersweet the memories of planning a visit with someone besides who he was on the trip with were, he still had a blast.

It most likely had to do with who accompanied him.

He'd met Coraline the second week of filming, odd because she was the second lead, but because she was on tour with the cast of her last movie. Coraline Gallagher was one of the top actresses in the business, which is why when Kurt had been chosen for the role along-side her, he'd practically fainted. She was everything that Kurt wanted to eventually achieve. Fame, success, and a 4-year run on Broadway. While living in New York he'd even gotten to see her perform with Rachel, way back when his life seemed perfect, and he'd promised himself that he would tell her face to face how amazing she was.

He'd practically shit himself with the opportunity arose.

At the beginning of their friendship, he'd been a bumbling idiot, fawning over her so much that her husband of 2 years told him to back off, and Kurt had eventually had to say that he was gay to the entire cast and crew until he believed him.

Surprisingly, no one minded. That was when Kurt's relationship with the Gallagher's became even more set in stone as he found two new best friends – something he'd been deprived of for way too long. His life was blossoming into something beautiful again, but there was always a nagging in the back of his mind that reminded him nothing stays perfect for long.

"What about this one?" The dark-haired beauty asked while spinning around in a tight fitting, shimmery black dress.

"I still like the green one better. It really brings out the color in your eyes." He patted the dress that was lying carefully across his lap.

Coraline bit her lip indecisively, "Kurt, I have to get both. They're just both adorable. I'll wear the green one when he takes me out for our anniversary but I know that there will be something that I wear the black one too. Right?"

"Oh the luxuries of being rich," He teased, standing up with the dress and two pairs of shoes in tow, along with a bag of his own.

She simply laughed before disappearing behind the curtain of the dressing room, coming back out a few minutes later dressed in her street clothes.

"You're coming over right? Camden said something about it this morning. I figured a nice movie night was well over-due." She chirped over her shoulder as she laid everything on the counter for the young girl to ring up.

"Well damn, there go my plans to frolic around town with my new man." Kurt joked, snickering in the process.

"I could only hope, Hummel. You need a good relationship. Hell, you just need to get laid. You're so sarcastic all the time; maybe it'd lighten you up."

"Ha, good one." He replied dryly.

"See! There you go again."

"I'm a sarcastic person by nature. You're just jealous because you can't keep up with my wit."

"Now that's just being mean." She haughtily said after grabbing her bag, dragging him out into the bright LA sunlight with her. The amount of moisturizer that included SPF 30 he'd gone through in his time here was absolutely insane. "So you are coming over?"

He nodded in confirmation.

"Great!" She said, clapping her hands, getting ready to say something before her phone cut her off. She dug it out of her purse, glancing at Kurt apologetically before answering it. "Hey!" She said, almost so excited it sounded forced.

Kurt couldn't hear who was on the other line, but it sounded like a man.

"Just out shopping with a friend before having a movie night." She said to something she'd been asked. "Shouldn't you be in classes?" Well, that ruled out it being Camden because as far as Kurt knew, her husband had long since graduated.

She listened to whatever the man was saying for a while, Kurt milling about and people watching as he tried to give her a little privacy.

"Alright, I'll see you then . . . I love you too . . . Bye." She said finally with a little bit of exasperation, giving Kurt a look. "Don't get me wrong, I love my brother, but there's just some times when you need to get away from all of the depressing in the world. Although I have to say, you're not much better."

Kurt just snorted and rolled his eyes at the last comment, "You have a brother? I didn't know that."

"Not many people do. He goes to school in New Haven so I hardly see him. I practically raised the monster, so it's weird not seeing him all the time."

"And that's why he's so depressed?" Kurt said with a slight teasing tone, although he couldn't help but fish for a good story to entertain him.

She leaned her head back and laughed, "Partially maybe." Her face grew more somber, "Actually, his boyfriend left him a few years back. It really messed him up, but he hasn't told me anything but that. I didn't even get to meet the guy. Personally, he seems like an asshole to me. I'd like to get the chance to punch his teeth out."

"So he's gay too?" Kurt rushed out, slightly shocked. His best friend had a brother who was also gay and she'd never thought to bring it up?

She nodded, "Our parents didn't like it very much, which is why I ended up getting custody when I was 18 and he was just a sophomore in high school. Hey, maybe I can set you two up when he comes for Thanksgiving."

Kurt frowned, "You know I don't want a relationship."

"Yeah, I know, even though you won't tell me why, I still know you don't want one."

"It's because people are assholes, and most are just out looking for a few things which have nothing to do with love. I may think that romance is no longer out there, but that doesn't stop me from wanting it." Kurt said angrily while toeing at a pebble, before continuing down the sidewalk.

"Trust me; my brother is nothing like that. I raised him to be honest and a gentleman. He knows that if he steps another toe out of line, I'll kick his ass."

"Remind me to never make you mad."

"You won't need reminding."

**Hello again! I know it's been a while sin****ce there's been a story from me, but I hope that this is up to par. I'm really excited about this one and I've been working on it for a while. Since it's summer, I'll be able to update more frequently and this is my main project. It's my first Glee fanfic but I've been obsessing over the show (and Klaine) for a long time now. I would love some reviews – and constructive criticism – to let me know what you think! Next chapter should be up as soon as I get it read through and edited.**

**Melanie.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the second installment for this story. I was so excited to see that it got some hits. I'd like to give a shout out to **msdarque** for being the first reviewer – thanks honey! So I think that about covers everything that I wanted to say. Read on, lovely readers.**

**Chapter 2**

By the time that Kurt was starting on his third movie a month later, his new life only had similarities like his love for musicals, music, and shopping. Long gone was the innocent, naïve boy from Lima, now replaced with a snappy and even quicker-witted man. He'd met a lot of different people, even though he wasn't as close to any of them as he was with the Gallagher's. They were his rock in this crazy world, and he loved knowing that they were there.

"Alright, I need Kurt to head back over to makeup so we can get take 4. Our extras need to stay where they are so we don't have people getting mixed up. Let's go people!" Paul, the director, clapped his hands impatiently while the extras fidgeted. The actor was whisked away to where his makeup lady was standing behind the chair he was forced into more times than he liked to count a day.

He sighed, allowing his eyelids flutter closed as he leaned back in the chair, intent on getting a few moments of sleep. Just before he could drift into unconsciousness, a tap to the shoulder jolted him awake. Once his bleary eyes focused he could make out an intern with red hair fidgeting nervously.

"Um, hi, there's someone at the gate that's requesting to talk to you – says he knows you personally."

"Does he have a name?" Kurt asked grumpily, the late night/early morning scheduling having taken its toll on him again already.

"Blaine Anderson; if you don't know him or even if you do and just don't want to talk to him, we can send him away. It's not like we haven't done that before."

Kurt's blood ran cold, mouth suddenly as dry as sandpaper. "What's his name?"

"Blaine Anderson, I think?" Her nerves turned it into a question. "I mean I'm pretty sure. It's the first time I've ever heard that name but I could've made a complete mistake – "

"I . . . Send him to my trailer." He waved his hand to cut off her rambling. "I'll be done after this scene. T-Thanks . . . Margie."

With a quick nod she turned on her heel before heading back down the hallway to where she could leave. Kurt's mind was in autopilot, getting up out of the chair and back onto set knowing that he had to but not knowing how he did.

"Hummel, come on. That's the 2nd cue you've missed!" Kurt shook his head to try and clear it as he was yelled at by Paul, finally giving a thumbs-up before continuing with the scene. It took another 20 minutes before everyone was finally satisfied and Kurt was allowed to drift toward the trailers.

It'd been 4, almost 5 years since he'd seen Blaine. That's a long time for a person to just randomly pop back up in someone's life and he knew that there had to be some reason for it. The last he'd heard, Blaine had still been in Lima finishing up high school. But of course he would've left as soon as he'd finished – anyone who really wanted out of the small town did.

There was a lamp on in Kurt's trailer, the knowledge that someone had to be in there to turn it on made his stomach do a flop. He walked up to the door, took a deep breath, and slowly pushed it open as his eyes took in the surroundings.

Everything was just as he'd left it earlier in the morning, aside from the bulky figure sitting on the couch with a sheepish grin.

"Finn?"

"Hey, Kurt." The figure replied, a little awkwardly.

It hit Kurt harshly, although he wasn't sure if it was relief or disappointment. Blaine wasn't here, this was just another – although way better and obviously more accomplished – of Finn's attempts to talk to him.

"What are you doing here?" He almost growled out, teeth clenched as his hand tightened on the doorknob he still held.

"I think you already know that."

"I don't want to hear it." The actor hissed, shutting the door forcefully and moving fully into the small living space.

Finn flinched before thinking of something else to say. "You look like shit."

"Thanks."

"Sorry, it's true though. Don't they let you sleep?"

"Sometimes it's just a little hard to stay asleep."

"How are you?"

Kurt fidgeted, fingering the hem of his shirt as he thought of how to answer his step-brother. "Better." It was true, the new actor was better than the last time he'd seen Finn so long ago. "Why are you here, Finn?" He asked again, this time exasperated.

"Because I'm worried about you. Because Mom and Burt worry about you. Because Rachel worries about you. Basically everyone that's ever been your friend worries that you're not alright."

"Not everyone." Kurt laughed bitterly, shaking his head.

"Have you talked to him?"

"No. And I never will. Not after . . ." He cleared his throat, forcing the lump that was forming back down. "Not after what happened."

It was silent.

"We miss you." Finn finally said, playing with the hole in his jeans.

"I miss everyone too."

"We want you to come back for Christmas."

Kurt shook his head, more forceful this time. "I don't think so." The laugh that followed was sarcastic and biting.

"Kurt, come on. Do you realize how upset everyone was when you left? How upset everyone still is?" The giant stood up, throwing his hands in the air.

Kurt just rolled his eyes, moving to the small kitchen and grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl. "Did you ever think that when I said I don't want to go back to Lima ever again, it's because I don't want to go back to Lima ever again?"

"You know, every year we get presents for you and up until that stupid interview with that magazine, we didn't even know you were alive. It sucks just a little bit to know that your brother doesn't want to see you. And what about what you're doing to Burt? He worries so much about you; Mom too. They just want to talk to you. It's not hard to pick up a phone, man."

The shorter of the two exhaled sharply, biting his lip as tears formed in his eyes, "It hurts Finn. That town holds awful memories that you wouldn't even be able to fathom. I thought that someone would be there to help me, but none of you were and if staying away from all of you means staying away from some other people I love, then so be it. I'm not strong enough to look you in the eye and say that you didn't ruin my life because you did. You helped."

Finn didn't seem to know how to respond to that, his eyes widening as he opened and shut his mouth like a fish.

"What did you hope to accomplish by coming here, Finn?"

"Getting my brother back." He answered immediately in a soft voice.

"I don't know how to forgive you."

"Don't do it for me then, do it for our parents." The tall man with dark hair made his way to the door after placing a slip of paper on the table with his number on it. "I love you, bro." And with that, he left the small trailer.

It took a while for Kurt to gather his emotions enough to leave the trailer and go to where his car was parked and by that time it was nearing midnight, the moon high in the sky. The actor went home, his apartment familiar and welcoming although lonely and slightly depressing. When he'd thought of moving away from home, there'd always been someone there with him. It was amazing how things worked out.

* * *

"And tell me again why I haven't ever met this brother of yours?"

"Tell me again why I still haven't met _your _brother and then we'll talk."

Coraline laughed and shrugged, "He lives a while away and I guess I just get caught up in the moment whenever I'm hanging out with you. Who wants to talk about depressing things when they don't have to? I mean, don't get me wrong – he was my biggest muse and inspiration for a really long time before I met Camden. Our relationship just hasn't been as good as it was before, so it was just kind of a tough topic."

Kurt hummed and nodded while taking an almond from his palm and eating it.

"It's your turn – don't think I'm just going to spill my secrets and all you get to do is listen." Coraline huffed in mock anger.

"Fine fine. I guess Finn is just . . . When you say your relationship with your brother isn't good, that's nothing compared to my brother's and my relationship these past few years. I mean, he's the only person from Lima I've talked to even out of my family for years but it hasn't been good. He's always coming up with these plans to get me back home."

It was Coraline's turn to nod. "Like what?"

"He used to txt me something every single day. Sometimes things just like, 'I saw a cat with blue eyes and it totally reminded me of you' or 'Hey, it's raining' before I changed my number. And then it was emails. Every week I'd get a new one from him. I never knew that he could be so persistent. Then he found out where I lived – don't ask me _how_ because I have absolutely no idea – and it became pictures, movie posters, letters, basically anything that he thought would get me sentimental enough to go home or contact any of them."

Coraline whistled lowly, "Must live a pretty boring life."

Kurt laughed, "Boston isn't nearly as boring as Lima."

"So wait, you lived in New York and he lived in Boston – all the while somehow knowing where you lived – and never stopped by for a visit?" Coraline switched positions so that her feet were resting in Kurt's lap.

"I don't think they moved until a year ago. He was living in Lima the last I knew, and his fiancé – my roommate – lived in New York. Which I don't even know if they're together anymore or not, the long distance got to them just a little before we went home for Christmas. No one expected them to last. Out of our friends it was dubbed that only two couples were probably going to make it, and I don't even know if the other couple in running did make it or not."

Coraline gasped in over-exaggerated shock, "Are you telling me that you were half of the other couple that was thought to last?"

Kurt bit his cheek, not knowing if he wanted to continue, "Possibly."

"Kurt Hummel! You've been holding out on me. The next thing I know you'll be telling me you aren't a virgin." She laughed at her own joke for a little, immediately cutting herself off when she realized that Kurt wasn't correcting her. "Oh my god! You're not a virgin! What is this world coming to? All of the things that I've been lead to believe are _false._ Are you actually straight, Kurt?" Her tone was teasing and light, a nice change from the topic that could have been gloomy and depressing.

Kurt snorted and rolled his eyes, "You haven't been lead to believe anything – you just didn't read into things deep enough."

"Oh, honey. If you want me to read into things . . . Believe me, I will."

"I'll remember that the next time I want someone interfering with my personal life."

She gave him a bright smile, poking at his thigh with her toes. "What are best friends for?"

He squeezed her calf in a sign of thanks, counting it as a blessing that he'd picked someone to be friends with that knew when to stop digging for more details.

"What are you going to do, though?"

He sighed, sinking down into the couch cushions and looking up at the dark gray ceiling. "About what?"

"Your family coming for Christmas, idiot. What did you think I was talking about?"

He frowned, "I honestly don't know what I'll do."

"That's better than ignoring it, at least. You want my opinion?"

"No?"

"Too bad," She leaned forward to grasp Kurt's hands in her own, waiting until he made eye contact before continuing. "Listen, babe." He flinched at the pet name – going unnoticed by her. "Family is important. It's like that safety-net that you can always fall back on because no matter what you _know_ that they'll be there. Family feud's happen all the time. Oh, Bobby stole my man. Boo hoo, Jimmy isn't going to be a doctor. To throw a treasure as sacred as a family away for anything isn't a smart move, Kurt. They love you – that's clearly obvious – and I know just by the way you talk about them that you love them as well. So what if it's been a few years? So what if it's awkward as fuck when you call them? So what if Christmas dinner is the absolute _weirdest_ thing you've ever witnessed. It's family and awkward tension doesn't last forever."

Kurt bit his lip, mulling over her words. "I just . . . I don't know."

"Think about it, at least." After getting a nod, she turned and laid back down to relax. "Now about reruns of Project Runway until we decide to go to bed?"

He agreed, settling in for 2 hours until Coraline had started to doze off and he gently nudged her awake. After groans and moans of complaint he'd managed to get her safely tucked into bed with Camden and then shuffled his own way up the stairs to where his room – previously just one of the guest rooms before they'd established the ritual of him sleeping over after movie nights – was located.

For a while he sat on the edge of the bed, finger hovering over the call button for what could have been hours. When he finally realized that he'd either have to get it over with or have the guilt eat away at his conscious forever, he pressed and brought the phone up to his ear.

"_Hello_?" A sleepy, gruff voice answered and he realized he'd stupidly called extremely late.

Too late to turn back now he exhaled softly. "Dad?"

* * *

**Oh, is that a cliffhanger? Bummer. **

**Kidding. The next chapter should be out fairly soon. I know that this is fairly short, and even shorter than the first chapter was and originally it was a lot longer but I wanted to drag out the action a little bit more instead of having so much in one chapter. Hopefully you all enjoyed it.**

**Kisses!**


	3. Chapter 3

**What is this? An update _already_?**

**So I have come to realize that reviews and alerts make me squeal. Not a lie. Thank you so much for your interest in this story, I'd love for you all to stick with me. One quick thing that I'd love to say is that yeah, I am an angsty-as-fuck writer. It's kind of what I do – the whole, dark, nervous, **_**holyshitI'mgoingtocrymyeyesout **_**writing? Yep, that'd be me. So I can safely say seeing as I've already got up to chapter 11 pretty much hammered out, this story is going to be angsty. Some chapters more than others, but just a fair warning. It'll all be worth it in the end, though I'm not promising a happy ending yet. Guess you'll just have to wait and see, huh?**

**Again though, thank you so much for taking a shine to this story – it warms my heart.**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Kurt Hummel could sometimes be defined as a relatively awkward person. So when awkward situations arose, he handled them the same way that he always did – standing awkwardly and making witty remarks.

Who was he to change that tradition as the Hudmel family filed into his apartment?

"Kurt!" Burt Hummel yelled, throwing his arms around his son and knocking the cap perched on his head partially off in the process. When he finally let go Carole had him in her own vise-grip, followed soon after by an uncomfortable embrace from Rachel and then an even stranger pat on the back from Finn.

"Hey everyone." He'd managed to get out; closing the door once all of their luggage was inside.

"Your apartment's huge! Did you decorate it yourself? Oh my goodness, Carole do you see that painting?" Rachel blabbered happily while making herself right at home, already stripping off her coat, either choosing to ignore the tension in the room or completely oblivious.

Kurt just smiled tightly.

The decision to have his family over for Christmas had been a difficult one and he still wasn't sure what he thought of it. But Finn's speech had gotten to him – along with Coraline's. He'd only briefly spoken with him and Rachel since the night he'd come to the snap decision to have them all come to LA for Christmas. If he was being honest and true, his dad and Carole were the only two that he wanted to make happy, so if that meant a little discomfort then he'd do it. He owed it to them in a way, after worrying them for so many years. There was no way that he was going back to Lima unless there was an emergency, so having them over seemed like the next best option.

His parents had jumped at the opportunity, like any normal parent would. Who wouldn't want to see their son after nearly 5 years of not hearing anything about him? Flights had been scheduled, bags packed, and then they had arrived on Kurt's doorstep in what felt like no time at all.

"I'll show you guys to your rooms." Kurt finally said, motioning to the hallway that branched off from the living room. They all picked up their things, and decided to tidy up while Kurt made dinner, giving him some time alone breathe. _Big step_ didn't even begin to cover what was going on.

The family would be staying for 3 days, going back to Lima the day after Christmas. Tonight was Christmas Eve and try as he might Kurt couldn't help the bitterness that was seeping through him. Christmas had always been his mother's favorite holiday, not to mention . . . _His_. The goofball who Kurt had fallen in love with, and made Kurt love practically everything to do with the adorable idiot – including insufferable holidays that he now was allowed to hate with vigor.

Kurt chopped at carrots unhappily, a scowl on his face.

"What did they ever do to you?" A teasing voice asked.

"Huh?"

Rachel rolled her eyes and motioned to the vegetables, "It looks like you're trying to murder the poor things."

"It's food, Rachel. I know you're all earth-friendly and all, but honestly it's a vegetable. They're not _poor things_."

"You're nervous about us being here, aren't you?" She accused.

Kurt raised his eyebrow in silent question.

"You always get defensive," She answered, ignoring his snort. "Sarcastic, mean, and then you bake. Like you obviously have been doing for the past 24 hours."

He tried to ignore the stack of baked goods on the counter, pretending to not know a word of what she was talking about.

"That day that you left was really scary, Kurt." Rachel said softly after a while. "I got back to New York, thinking that we'd just have to deal with another breakup -makeup, but you were gone. I kept thinking that maybe you'd come back to get all of your things but you were just _gone._ I kept thinking that maybe you'd come back to get your things but you never did."

Kurt's hold on the knife he used to chop tightened until his knuckles were white to stop them from shaking. "Are you here to guilt trip me too? Because honestly, Berry, I feel bad enough alright?"

"I just want you to know that I missed you, ever since that day that you left without any explanation. Even Blaine didn't know where you would be, or why you left and he knew more about you than anyone."

Kurt couldn't help the sardonic laugh that bubbled in his chest and past his lips at the mention of Blaine.

Everything went awkwardly silent, she knew that she'd stuck a nerve but out of the things Rachel Berry was known for, it was most definitely not relenting.

"He barely passed senior year. Did you know that? But he did, and then he went to college all the way out in –"

"Just stop." Kurt cut her off, tears dancing in his eyes so brightly that he had to bite his tongue in order for them to not overflow. "I don't want to know where he went to school, or what he majored in, or what his newest boyfriend is like. I don't want to know if he asks about me, or even if he talks to anyone from Glee Club anymore. I'm done with him, Rachel. You don't even know how bad it was. How much therapy I had to sit through until I got deemed '_fixed_'."

She took in the sight of her old friend, nodding slightly before moving forward to give him a hug. The young actor took a shuddering breath before he was able to briefly hug back in order for her to let go. He gave her a nod before turning back around to the cut vegetables, she going back to her room with Finn.

Seeing as he'd already received an awkward heart-to-heart moment from Rachel, he really wasn't expecting any more from his family. It was late, nearing 11 and he'd assumed that everyone else was already asleep as he scrubbed furiously at pots and pans while simultaneously doing prep for tomorrows Christmas feast.

He was dealing with the pies while letting the dishes soak when a large hand was placed on his shoulder, a warm arm draping across his back. He'd startled, as he was known to do, and jerked to see his father standing with a small smile beside him.

"Uh, hey, dad. I thought you'd gone to sleep."

Burt shook his head, "Nah. You're old man isn't _that_ old yet. I can still pull a few late nights out when I want to. And right now I just want to spend some alone time with my son."

If Kurt hadn't been feeling guilty before – which he had – he certainly did now. How many years of father-son bonding had he thrown away because of his own selfishness? How many moments had he missed, that would have made stories to tell his own kids when he was older? Who was he to decide for his father to not have those times anymore simply because he was scared to go back to that city. He was disgusted with himself – more than usual.

"Anything in particular you wanted to talk about?"

Burt shrugged, looking as if he was contemplating as he moved away to load some of the dishes into the dishwasher from the sink. "I guess I could ask how you've been, but I like to think I still know you well enough to know you'd spout off some bull-shit answer about being great. So how does it feel to finally have fame?"

Kurt shrugged, throwing a wad of twine to the side, "It's not like I'd thought it'd be, that's for sure."

"You're happy though?"

"For now." It wasn't a lie. He truly _was_ happy. Who wouldn't be happy doing something that they enjoyed and finally getting praised for it. But despite how intoxicating his new life was, it wasn't what he wanted for the rest of his life.

"I guess that's enough. _For now._" Burt looked over briefly. "You're my son Kurt, and I still want you to have the damn universe."

Smiling, Kurt slowly answered. "Well, having the family here is definitely making me happier than I would have thought."

"Even Rachel?"

"Even Rachel." Kurt confirmed with a laugh. "I don't understand how they got back together though."

Burt rolled his eyes, leaning back against the sink and crossing his arms over his chest as he watched his son. "All we know is it involves a cat, oil, and a Broadway number. So far that's all Carole and I have managed to get out of them. They got re-engaged a few months ago."

"Yeah, Finn told me when I was getting everything arranged. When's their wedding?"

"I don't think they've even thought that far ahead yet. Were you planning on making it to that?" Burt sounding so _hopeful_ and who was Kurt to turn that hope down?

"Your brother only gets married once – hopefully. That's generally what someone has to go to." He teased and it suddenly felt just like it had when Kurt still lived at home. His dad and him in the kitchen just talking and enjoying being in the others company.

Burt moved forward, clutching at Kurt's shoulder again before letting it go. "It's good to have you back, kiddo."

Kurt could only nod, a sudden tightness in his throat making it difficult to speak. Burt exited the kitchen, headed back to his room.

"Hey dad?" Kurt called softly.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Burt smiled, and Kurt could have _sworn_ he saw tears in his eyes. "Love you too, kiddo. Don't stay up too late." Then he took off down the hall, leaving Kurt with the food for tomorrow's meal.

* * *

"You do realize we have all day to open presents right?" Kurt groaned, rolling onto his other side so that his back was to the annoying child practically dancing and spouting glitter that had woken him up.

"It's 9 already. Come _on_, Kurt!" Finn whined, bouncing up and down on the bed. Kurt guessed that if he were to look over he would no doubt be wearing a pout and have his hands clasped in front of him in what Finn considered classic begging position.

Kurt just reclosed his eyes and attempted to go back to sleep, despite Finn basically making a wave-pool out of his mattress. When it didn't stop, he mumbled life-threats into his pillow, although he himself wouldn't even be able to distinguish what they were.

"Rachel even made breakfast already. I promise that I'll have coffee for you!"

"Fine!" Kurt huffed, sitting up with a giant yawn and shooting a glare at Finn. "Go, shoo!" He waved his hands in the motion, glaring for a while more at Finn's retreating form before he pulled on a shirt that in a way matched his silk pajama bottoms. Even if it was a simple day in, he had to look somewhat presentable. He may not be as finicky about his clothing as he once had been, but he didn't enjoy not looking put-together in front of others.

The door creaked as he opened it to walk out in the kitchen, alerting the half-asleep others. Aside from Finn, only the giant's fiancé was chipper this early. In all his years, Kurt had never been a morning person. He preferred punching _those_ _kinds_ of people to actually going along with their annoying antics of excitement when he should really be sleeping. It made for some shitty working mornings, but by now almost everyone he associated with knew that unless you had a damn good reason, you didn't talk to Kurt before he chose to awake without receiving a glare or special finger. Rachel and Finn had obviously forgotten that.

"Remind me why I'm awake?" He muttered, taking the coffee that Carole offered him.

"It's _Christmas_, Kurt!" Rachel squeaked and danced around as she collected the cut fruits and toast she'd made. "Aren't you even a little bit excited?"

Kurt only rolled his eyes in answer while he nursed the scalding, bitter liquid. "Seeing as you're Jewish, I don't understand why _you're_ excited."

"Because I can celebrate the present giving without celebrating the holiday itself – now hurry up!"

They ate quickly, due to Rachel and Finn barely even being able to sit still, before moving into the living room where a relatively small tree had been placed in the corner with presents underneath.

"Alright, Kurt you sit over there in that chair. Carole, Burt, you two sit on the couch. Finn and I will take the floor so we can hand out all the gifts." Commanded Rachel, already starting to examine the packages.

The morning consisted of inane chatter – mostly from Rachel and Finn – while the trash of green and red paper on the floor increasingly grew, and the packages eventually became new perfumes, books, clothes, and things to match whatever person's hobby. By the end Kurt was ready to just collapse back in bed, the constant war of emotions making him mentally tired. He loved them all, but sometimes it was just _too much_. Even now he couldn't count up the amount of times he'd heard, "We don't really know what you like anymore but . . ." And the guilt, even as little as he liked to admit it, was eating away at his conscience.

All the same, as he took his new things back to his room he smiled back at the people lounging in his living room, gratefulness at least being forefront in the fight of his feelings. These people had come all the way to see him just because they loved him, and for at least a little moment while the rest of the world seemed to come to a brief stop, he could revel in that feeling; and even though he hadn't forgiven some things from the past, it was still something.

* * *

**A bit short again, but at least this time it ended on a brighter note. God, I love Burt Hummel. Just . . .how fatherly he is, it's so touching. Drop me a review or something to let me know what you think.**

**Kisses!**


	4. Chapter 4

**BIG chapter, folks! Pretty sure it's the one you've all been waiting for. And if it's not . . . It should be. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

The days after the family left was spent in constant cleaning, the guest bedrooms needed to be put back in order, belongings found and shipped back to their rightful owners, and the endless amounts of packaging he kept finding put in recycling. With a break given in shooting the film for the holidays until mid-January, Kurt was at home alone for days on end with nothing but a book or TV to keep him company. His boredom was thankfully interrupted by Coraline in the form of an invitation to spend New Year's with her, Camden, and the mystery brother she'd been trying to set Kurt up on a date with for the past few weeks. He'd been dismissing it regularly, but figured what harm would simply meeting the guy have?

He pulled up in front of their estate on New Year's as planned, waiting as two figures sprinted toward his car and got in the backseat.

"Mystery-brother got his wits at the last second and decided not to come?"

Coraline sighed, which turned into a laugh. "He opted for watching How I Met Your Mother reruns. I thought that just maybe I could get him out of the house, but nope. He's the same age as you, ya know, Kurt? I didn't know that kids your age turned down free booze."

Kurt just rolled his eyes and shook his head, not pointing out the fact that she was only a few years older than him, putting the car into gear and leaving the home behind them.

See, their plan involved getting a maybe just a little drunk before watching some New Year's Eve fireworks. It didn't involve anything illegal, and definitely didn't have anything to do with the cops. But sometimes plans get messed up, and first – this time unpleasant – times happen. Kurt had ridden in a police before, yeah, but he definitely hadn't been in handcuffs. Not to mention scared out of his mind. His friends were in the police car behind them and he could see, as they were lead into the police station that they were a little less shaken up about this than Kurt was.

"Alright Mister . . . Gallagher, let's make this simple, can you please explain to me why you were yelling, naked, trying to get to the Hollywood sign?" The calm police officer asked, hands folded in front of him on the table. Kurt shifted, looking at the man the question was directed at.

Camden shrugged, "They couldn't hear me."

The officer gave him an _are you kidding me right now_ stare. Camden returned it coolly.

"With all due respects, sir, it's New Year's. Shouldn't you be busting kids at parties for underage drinking?" Coraline asked, obviously closer to Kurt's level of panic than her husbands.

"I've got trainees working that shift. We take this kind of thing seriously here, no matter if you're a big-shot movie star or not." He glared at the trio. "Your bail should be posted in an hour. I would be using your call if I were you to see if someone would be so kind as to get you out."

The officer left with that, leaving the three in the room behind a locked door. Coraline groaned and sunk down in her chair while Kurt tried to ease the angry red marks on his wrists from where the cuffs were digging into his pale skin.

"I'll call your brother. He can get out of the house long enough to bail us out." Camden said, although there was still a hint of laughter in his voice, following the officer out. Either he had drunk way more than Kurt thought and still wasn't sobered up enough or this really amused him.

The actress nodded, a hand pressed to her forehead. It was quiet as the two waited for him to come back with news. It was a full 10 minutes before he did; seeming longer than it actually was due to the fact that they were in _prison_.

_Oh god_, _I'm a _felon_._ Kurt thought. _What if a reporter finds out? I don't think I could handle being on TMZ like this. It's too early for that. Serena is going to murder me. Literally have me be hunted down and shot like a wild animal._ He shuddered.

"He should be here soon." Camden said, coming back in.

Everyone was silent for a while, the tension building.

"Camden, you have no idea how pissed off I am at you right now." Kurt said lowly, cold gaze never leaving the man with shaggy hair across from him.

"Oh come on, it was so funny."

"I wanted to stay and watch the fireworks!"

"But you agreed to go!"

"Because you called me a _wimp_!" Kurt yelled, standing up, eyes wide in horror. "Do you realize what's going to happen when the media catches wind of this? What about when my dad finds out? He's going to drag me back home."

"God, I'm sorry, sheesh." Camden said, finally done with his laughter.

Kurt just huffed and sat back down, forehead on the table while he went back to fiddling with the handcuffs.

"Look, man, I really am sorry. I was buzzed and just wanted to have a fun time. It really sucks that it ended up like this, but I will personally try and see if we can fix this with the media so no one finds out. Maybe we can pay them off or something . . ."

Kurt jolted back up, eyes going even wider, "I need to call Serena! Oh my God, I didn't even think about them being here. I need to get this cleaned up as soon as possible."

"Calm down, hun. You can call her in the car. There's nothing that she can do at this exact moment."

Groaning, Kurt put the palms of his hands over his closed eyes to try and relieve the headache that was constantly growing.

A knock on the door made Coraline and Camden jump up, watching as a different officer opened the door. Kurt didn't move until the younger man said with reluctance that they were free to go, unlocked their handcuffs, and then Kurt eventually followed his two friends away from the room officially a free man. As soon as they were given back their things Kurt turned on his phone, realizing with dismay that the battery had depleted. He groaned again, just now noticing that he also had been ditched.

"Coraline? Camden? _Come on_, you're my ride home." He griped, shoving his arms through the sleeves of his coat.

He stopped short, breath catching in his throat as he rounded the corner.

Only a few times had his blood felt so cold. The day his mom died, the day he was pulled out of class after being told his father was in the hospital, and the night of the dreaded party years ago. It was the kind of chill that rushed all the way to your toes and left you in a cold sweat while you swayed uneasy. It was the kind of chill that you got at seeing a ghost, the sickness that settled in your stomach enough to make you faint. It was the kind of chill when you saw a past love.

The hazel eyes should've been Kurt's first clue. He'd thought about it the first time he'd met Coraline, how shockingly close in color they'd been to _his_. But after everything that had happened it hurt so much to think about, so he'd pushed it to the very back of his mind like everything else. The next hint should've been the hair. If Coraline wasn't complaining about her height, she was complaining about the unruly mass of dark curls that had been placed on her head which took hours to style.

Maybe that's what had drawn Kurt to her in the first place, because even though they didn't act alike, they looked so much alike it was comforting; it was like home.

_He_ was in an argument with her right now, obviously not liking the fact that his sister had been arrested, although it must not have been very threatening because Camden stood close by with a small smile on his face, occasionally laughing at something being said.

Kurt thought about running past them, or even going back into the room they had been held in. It was better than this, anything was. But his feet were frozen to the spot where he stood, his eyes wide and his phone in such a death grip that he wouldn't be surprised if it broke. He stumbled a little, the sound of his boot hitting the ground dragging everyone's attention unfortunately to him.

_He_ was the last to turn, his eyes still on his sister before they turned to Kurt. At first they were only filled with worry and anger, but as the seconds grew longer it turned into recognition, confusion, and pain. Kurt was hurting him by being here, just as he was hurting Kurt.

"_Kurt_?" He said eventually, nothing louder than a whisper but still loud enough for Kurt to hear.

Kurt swallowed thickly, not knowing how to respond. The young actor would have given anything to be back at home. It was so stupid to come out tonight.

"What . . . What are you doing here?" He tried again, hazel eyes blazing.

"I . . ." The words once again got stuck in his throat.

"Camden got us arrested. We already explained that. You two know each other?" Coraline asked, gaze flitting between the two, never one for subtleness.

Kurt gave a sharp nod, eyes still attached to Blaine's.

"Oh cool! Come on, I really think we need to go before anyone finds out who got arrested. Kurt, you want to just spend the night?"

"No." Kurt's voice was calm, effectively breaking the spell by averting his eyes. He needed to have control.

Coraline shrugged, nudging her brother with her elbow and taking her husband by the hand. Kurt let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding before he followed them.

_He looks so different_; Kurt took in with a pang. His hair wasn't gelled back, whether from not enough time or simply because he didn't care. No longer did he wear cut-offs and bowties, but instead loose jeans and a pullover sweatshirt. The actor couldn't help himself from wondering why. Did he just throw on whatever he could find before he rushed down? Had been asleep, or was this really what he decided to look like now? Not that it looked bad, per se, just extremely different than what he'd dressed like before.

But Kurt didn't know, and Kurt would never know. He'd chosen that. It was his decision to leave without a goodbye, letting him desert without breaking a promise to _never_ say goodbye to the boy he once knew like the back of his hand.

_Although_, Kurt thought, _I was never told he had a sister_. It stung a little bit, thinking that maybe he hadn't known Blaine as well as he thought.

Camden's car was waiting in a parking spot close by, but Kurt didn't take any chances. He pulled the hood of his coat up over his head and ducked in the back as quick as he could. To his dismay the other body that slid in beside him was the one he least wanted to see.

"Coraline, can I use your cell? I need to call Serena and see if I can live to tell her about your husband getting me_ arrested_." The last bit came out more of a hiss than he'd intended it too, although he couldn't deny that he was still extremely upset.

Coraline handed the phone to him while Camden starting spouting different things. "You were the one with the alcohol, Kurt. And you know that when I drink even just a little bit of tequila I get absolutely crazy ideas."

Kurt sighed and shook his head, knowing that Camden had only been a _little _buzzed, leaning against the cool glass of the car window with the phone pressed against his other ear.

"_Hello_?" Serena mumbled, sounding half-asleep and half-drunk.

"I got arrested."

The line was silent for a little while, the only other sound coming from her breathing.

"_What_?"

"I got . . . Arrested."

"_For what_?" Surprisingly, she sounded calm.

"Public intoxication and trespassing."

"_Trespassing? Please don't tell me you tried to go to the sign_."

Kurt was silent.

"_You did, didn't you . . . What the hell were you thinking? What am I saying, obviously you weren't thinking at all. Damn it, Kurt, do you realize the amount of clean-up I'm going to have to do on this?"_ Her voice was shrill, and made Kurt's head feel even worse.

"It's not my fault." He lamely tried, although she just kept yelling over him.

Eventually she wore herself out and she stopped yelling, ending the conversation with a 'We will talk tomorrow' before hanging up on him.

Kurt slid the phone onto the center console before dropping his head into his hands.

"So how do you two know each other?" Coraline asked, glancing to look back at them with a skeptic eye.

No one talked, Kurt barely even breathed.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Kurt confessed, his stomach painfully uneasy as he clenched his eyes shut.

Blaine's hands were on him in an instant, rubbing at his back in what was supposed to be a soothing manner. Kurt flinched away like he'd been burned.

"Don't." He warned. "Don't touch me."

Blaine's hands immediately retracted as if Kurt was the one burning _him._

The cars awkward silence was even felt up in the front, enough for the usually-oblivious Coraline to know not to say anything.

"Just . . . take me home." Kurt said, palms back to pressing into his eyes as he hunched over.

It only took a little while after that to get to Kurt's apartment and as soon as the car was stopped he was tearing open the door and falling out. He needed to get away. Kurt could smell him, hear him, see him, and it was all too much.

_His_ voice called out Kurt's name but Kurt ignored it, striding through the lobby with a hand held to his face.

By the time he was up safely in his apartment he let out a shuddering breath, trying to stop his hands and knees from shaking. As it became increasingly and increasingly more difficult he dove to the couch, taking the blanket he'd left there earlier and cocooning himself. He didn't let himself cry, because he knew that he was stronger than that. Seeing that man wasn't going to set him back in his emotional recovery because he wouldn't _let_ it; he was stronger than that. He had to be.

* * *

**And now we have the entry of one Blaine Warbler Anderson. How exciting. I hope the suspense isn't getting to you too bad yet. The next chapter is even more eventful so keep your eyes peeled, it'll be out shortly.**

**Kisses!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Woah! Another chapter so soon! Some crazy stuff going on right now! Okay we have another big chapter right here so be fully warned - the actions of characters may or may not be revealed in later chapters.**

**Chapter 5**

_Strong hands roughly covered a pale body. Alcohol passed from the lips in the form of breath, fanning nauseatingly across his face. He wanted to vomit. He tried to get away, he really did, but the hands held him down – crushing his bare sides with their strength. It hurt. Everything hurt. God, why couldn't it just all end?_

"_Blaine. No, stop. _Please_. Blaine!"_

Kurt woke with a gasp, hair plastered to his forehead as sweat collected on him. He was trembling, stomach uneasy as he stumbled to the hallway bathroom and just barely managed to get to the toilet before emptying the contents of his stomach until there was nothing left.

He remained on the cool floor for a while, holding back sobs and tears as he grabbed the cabinet with his hands, forehead rested against the side. He was exhausted, memories plaguing him in the form of dreams all night. Why did he have to go through it all again? Once was enough to make some people go crazy, so why did he have to witness and feel everything just like he was still in that disgusting room so many years ago?

It literally made him sick.

He clenched his eyes together as another wave of nausea swept through him, this time managing to get through it without the help of a toilet. Shakily he managed to get up, taking deep breaths through his nose as he cleaned himself up, grimacing at the sight of himself in the mirror. Dark purple under his eyes made his already blanched face even paler, his cheeks hallow and as gaunt as his agents. His normally sparky cerulean eyes were dull, lifeless, scared.

His first stop was to the kitchen where he downed a glass of water and some pills to help his headache dissolve. It probably wouldn't help at this stage, but honestly anything was worth a shot to make the throbbing go away. After digging in his pantry with a groan he realized that he had absolutely nothing in the house to eat. Not in the mood, he pulled on a pair of – cringe – sweats and a baggy long-sleeved _Wicked_ shirt. It'd been years since he had ditched his usually extremely well put together clothes and it was simply weird to be seen out in public so . . . _Untogether_.

But everyone has those days when they don't have the energy, or willpower, to do anything but mope. So while it wasn't socially acceptable to go out in his pajamas, he'd stick to the homeless hobo-look today.

The sun glared on him when he stepped outside; causing him to instantly pull on the sunglasses he'd picked up to hide his eyes. If there was an awful moment to get caught by the paparazzi, this was in close second to last night.

His stomach rolled at the thought of last night's events.

Blaine was here. Here in LA, and was Kurt's best friend's brother.

His stomach again went queasy, making him stop the thought process so he wouldn't have to find the closest trash can. The plan was to simply go get some coffee and food, and then go back home and sleep the rest of the day. Nothing sounded more pleasant to him right now. So when he discovered that his car wasn't in its reserved spot, his headache increased and pitiful tears came to his eyes, although he never let them fall.

Turning around on his heel he headed back inside, muttering to himself about ridiculous police officers and receiving plenty of confused – not to mention half worried about his sanity – looks.

When he got back inside the apartment, not even bothering to close the door behind him, he practically ripped the phone from its cradle on the coffee table. Punching in the familiar number he waited, each ring making him more tired. He just needed to sleep, what was the point in getting food anyway. He'd just eat tomorrow when he didn't feel like absolute –

"Hey! Kurt!" The loud voice answered.

"Hi . . ." He tentatively said back, pulling the phone a little farther from his head. "Do you think you can do me a favor?"

"Sure! What is it?"

"With your husband getting us arrested last night I couldn't exactly drive my car to the police station and I completely forgot about it until this morning. Can you pick me up and drive me to get it?"

He heard the loud laughs of Camden himself over the line.

"Ignore him, you poor thing, of course I can. Be ready in 10."

"I'll be waiting outside." With that Coraline hung up, leaving Kurt with a dial tone before he too disconnected from the call.

True to his word, in 10 minutes he was outside pacing back and forth on the sidewalk.

5 minutes passed.

And then another 5.

When Coraline was 15 minutes later than she said she would be Kurt sat down with his legs tucked in front of him, back to the building. _I'll just hail a cab and deal with this tomorrow. _His forehead rested on his kneecaps, and he guaranteed that with his clothing choice people thought he was going to pull out a little tin can and start begging for money. _I'm going to just wait here for a few more minutes until the world stops spinning like a fucking ballerina and then get a taxi. _His eyes stayed clenched closed.

A hand on his shoulder made him look up quickly, flinching away. His doorman, a friendly middle-aged man named Tom, smiled apologetically down at him. "Your ride's here."

"Thanks." Kurt whispered, pulling himself up with a hand resting on the wall behind him to keep himself balanced. Sure enough, a black car had pulled up just where the curb ended, idling and waiting for its passenger.

Shuffling more than was probably acceptable, Kurt eventually got to the car and popped the door open to allow himself to slide onto the leather seat.

"It took you long enough." He grumbled, although not even fake anger bled into his words.

When he didn't get a response from the usually bright brunette, he looked over. His heart stopped, the world swayed, and for a second he thought he was going to be sick again.

His hands quickly flew to the door handle but before he could find the cool metal the door had locked and the car jolted forward.

"You don't look very good." The, indeed, dark-headed driver said quietly.

"I don't _feel _very good. Let me out." Kurt snapped, trying to get as much malice as he could into his words.

"No."

"Now damn it. Or I swear to God, Blaine, I will jump out."

"I really, _really_ hope you don't do that." His hazel eyes flickered to Kurt worriedly, before going back to the road. _Always the careful driver._

"And I really don't care what you want."

The silence hung in the air after the already-known thought was voiced.

"Please just let me take you to your car. Corie was really worried about you last night."

Kurt glared, realizing that he was talking about Coraline because _of course_ they would have nicknames for each other because they were _related_. They were siblings. Brother and sister. _Famille_.

"It's amazing the things you don't know about people." He finally said, voicing what he had thought yesterday.

"Funny, coming from you." Blaine said, again softly, although the bitterness still was heard.

"Oh my god! I'm not doing this!" Kurt yelled, finally breaking. Tears stung at his eyes before he quickly rubbed them with his fingers, inadvertently knocking off his sunglasses in the process.

"Doing what? Talking? Because honestly, it's what I've wanted to do for a _really_ long time."

Kurt held his breath to contain the sobs that were slowly forming, hunching over in the seat. "Blaine, I don't want to talk to you. I don't ever want to see you ever again. Is that what you want to hear; because I don't know how else to tell you. I left Lima. I left everything there for a reason. It hurts, you have no idea how much, but that's the way it's got to be. I let go, and now you've got to let go of _me_."

"Maybe I don't want to, Kurt!" Now it was Blaine's turn to raise his voice. "Maybe you were the best thing to ever happen to me, and maybe when you left without a word; it hurt so much I didn't talk to anyone that year. Do you know how much it sucked when I went to your house the night after that – that party, to your dad telling me that you'd already gone back to New York? That you told him to let me know you were gone for good, and you didn't want me to find you?" His voice went softer, "I went home that night to my dad making fun of me for crying over my '_faggot boyfriend'_ and my '_faggot life'_. And before, I didn't care because I had something. I had you. But then you left and I didn't even know why – leaving me with absolutely _nothing_."

Kurt wanted to be sick. He wanted to sleep. He wanted out of that too-close-for-comfort car. He wanted _away._

"And you will never know." He whispered, finally removing his hands and looking up, his resolve hardening.

The silence was stifling.

"Why did you come pick me up, Blaine?" Finally, he asked.

"Because last night I was sitting at my sister's house when I got the call that her, Cam, and the mystery friend that she's been trying to set me up with got arrested. And then you just pop up out of nowhere, when I spent so much time trying to find out where you lived. When Corie said that you were sick or something and you needed to get your car, I pounced on the opportunity. I've just been . . . Waiting for some chance like this to see you again. To see you and get some damn answers."

Kurt was silent again for a while, watching Blaine from the corner of his eyes, "I'm not sick." He said moodily.

Blaine let out an unamused laugh, "Right. Because you go out in sweats every day, and the bruises under your eyes are there for _color_. Don't even get me started on your eyes."

Kurt quickly snatched the sunglasses from his lap, having forgotten them for a moment. "People change, Blaine. Maybe I don't care about clothes anymore, and maybe I'm tired from half a night in jail, and maybe I just have a fucking hangover."

"You curse now too." Blaine's smirk – no matter how small – annoyed Kurt.

"Fuck. _Off_." Kurt spat, eyes glaring from behind the tinted lenses.

The curly-headed male held up a hand in defense, although the smirk did fade.

"It's up that road." He directed, hands fisting the sweats material on his knees. Blaine just nodded, flipping on the turn signal as he turned up the gravel road. The small white car was parked where he'd left it the previous night.

Blaine eventually pulled up behind it, and almost reluctantly unlocked the doors. Kurt opened the door quickly, piling out the car in almost the same fashion he had last night. After taking a deep breath of fresh air he turned back around, looking into the hazel eyes that were staring into his own.

"My shrink told me that the last step to recovery is to let go. I . . . I think it's time Blaine. Just let me go."

And with that, he briskly shut the door and walked to his car, making sure to not look inside the still-parked vehicle as he passed.

* * *

"You're sick."

"No. I'm not. I'm tired, and irritable, and hungover."

"From a drunken adventure 3 nights ago?" She snorted. "Right."

"Maybe I'm a little sick."

"You're sick enough to stay home." Serena crossed her arms over her tailored-to-the-extreme pink blazer.

"I'm well enough to come to work." He countered, motioning for the make-up lady to continue her work on his face, trying to add some color to his pale cheeks and cover-up to hide the tired bruises under his eyes.

"Fine, but if you end up working yourself even sicker, I will fire you."

"You light up my day." He teased, closing his eyes and holding his breath while a powder was dusted onto him.

Eventually the day was brought to a close with a final "cut" shouted by Paul to the overworked actors. Kurt trudged his way out to his trailer to change back into his street clothes and grab his bag before he was able to leave. A couple paparazzi were waiting in the parking lot, immediately jumping up from where they were resting on the cold floor, their cameras going directly from their laps to their shoulders.

"Kurt!" One shouted, causing the distracted male to look up.

"Oh . . . Hey guys, how are you doing?"

"Good, man, good. It's TMZ, by the way." The taller of the two stepped in front of the others camera, obviously making it clear this was his interview. _Well look who fucked his luck._ Kurt thought bitterly to himself, thinking of how awful it would be to be featured on the TV show just the other night.

"Oh wow, this is the first time I've ever been interviewed by you."

"Figured it was time to pop your cherry."

Kurt tried desperately to hide his uncomfort, but it obviously didn't go unnoticed by the camera man.

"So we heard that you had some fun on New Year's."

Kurt shook his head and forced a laugh, "I have never been so embarrassed in my life," _That's a lie. "_And then on top of that my friend convinced me it would be a good idea to start a nudist colony at the Hollywood sign. He was the only one that could get undressed before the cops were there."

The camera man let out a loud laugh, "You got arrested?"

"Yea, it really sucked. It was my first time getting arrested too, so I was a terrified. Mostly of my dad though." He unlocked his car, turning sheepishly to the camera, "Hi dad."

"So no more late nights for a while?" The guy asked after laughing some more.

"No more late nights for a long while." Kurt got in his car, setting his bag in the passenger seat.

"That's great, we'll see you around man, have a nice night."

"You too, hope you find someone better than me to interview." With a last laugh he shut the door, made sure that it was clear, and then pulled out of the spot.

By the time he got to the apartment, he was ready to take a shower and crawl into bed, debating if he could take a day off from work like Serena suggested. It really sounded good, but he knew that he would regret it after.

Pulling his keys out he quickly slot them in the door, soon after realizing that he didn't need to. The door was already unlocked. His heart thumped painfully in his chest, pushing it open and holding onto his keys so he'd have at least some defense against a robber. Lights were on in the kitchen, but he saw no one as he crept along the wall in a James Bond style.

When he got to the living room, he saw a figure sprawled on the couch although their face was hidden in the dark. Cautiously – because getting murdered by a burglar was the last thing he wanted to happen – he slunk around the room until finally the man looked up and at the scared actor.

"Kurtsie!" He cheered.

"What the hell are you_ doing_ here?" Kurt asked, hissing through clenched teeth as he allowed his heart to slow back to normal speeds.

"I'm here on a mission, _obviously,_ for Coraline. It's dinner night, remember?"

"Cam, I don't feel good. I just want to sleep."

The Finn-sized brunette stood up. "You're going because it's a tradition and my wife misses you." His giant hands clasped onto Kurt's shoulders to try and steer him back out the door.

"No. You don't understand, I'm sick and I don't feel like seeing . . ." He paused mid-rant. "People. I don't feel like seeing people today."

"People? Or one person. Because I know there's something fishy going on between you and the kid."

"The _kid_? You do realize that he's only a few months younger than me right?" Kurt scowled.

"Oh so you _do_ know him well? You're the ex, aren't you? Ya know, I honestly thought that if Coraline ever met Blaine's ex, she'd kick his ass. I honestly did. But it'll never happen now. Damn it that would've been hot too. You suck for ruining my fun, Hummel."

Kurt could only look at him incredulously.

The taller male grabbed his shoulders again, steering him to the door. "Come on, the sooner this is over with, the sooner you can go home."

"I told him I didn't want to see him again when he went to drive me to my car. I meant that, Camden."

With a particularly hard shove, Kurt was officially back outside and the door was being locked behind them. "You might not want to, but for one night; you can stay strong for one night."

Kurt's head was throbbing, and he wished he'd stopped to get medication before leaving. Would his sickness or whatever it was ever go away? Because right now, he was leaning toward no.

By the time they got to Camden's car, Kurt got in without a fight, long since out of energy. It took too much out of him too fight.

"I'm not going to work tomorrow." He said when they were out on the street.

"Really? That's the first time . . . Ever. Well, as long as we've known you that is which it's been a while. Coraline worked with you more, but she said you were always there. You really don't feel good do you?"

"Do I look like I'm dancing with unicorns exactly?"

"Well, no. But you never do."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kurt asked, sighing as he propped his chin in his hand and looked out his window.

"That you run yourself sick. Plus, it wouldn't hurt you to go and get a tan."

The actor rolled his eyes, having had this argument many time before.

"Just promise you won't leave until dinner's over." Cam begged.

"Promise." Kurt reluctantly agreed. "But that's all I'm promising."

"Fine, I can live with that."

"You're going to have to."

"I don't even think he's here, so it doesn't really matter anyways."

"Wait, Blaine's not here; he's not coming to dinner? Did he already leave to go back to . . . wherever he was before he visited?"

"For someone uninterested you have a lot of questions." Camden teased, smiling toward Kurt's glare. "I have no clue. He kind of just got home and shut himself away in his room, then early this morning he left with a bag. Haven't seen him since. You'd say that's leaving right?"

Kurt just shrugged; feeling like a weight was being lifted off of his shoulders as he sank more relaxed into the seat. The trip didn't seem so bad any more, now that he knew he wasn't being dragged to his figurative death. He could have a simple night in with friends, a tradition they'd had for a long time to have dinner at least once a week at one of their houses. It was routine, and routine was comforting.

"Damn, man, you were tired. Come on, we're here." Camden said after shoving Kurt awake. He blinked his bleary eyes and sat up, taking in the surroundings. Cautious on unsteady feet he opened the door and followed Camden inside the brightly lit house.

"Honey, I'm home!" He called out loudly to his wife.

"You're here!" She said happily from around the corner, coming into view a little while later. "Oh my god, I told you to not bring him if he didn't look well." Coraline instantly said, worry etched into her features as she cupped Kurt's face in her hands, having to stand slightly her toes to look into his eyes.

"I'm fine, honestly. It's been a long week. I had my first TMZ moment tonight though."

"What did you do?" She sounded worried.

"Nothing! They just found me when I was leaving set and asked me about the other night . . . I can't remember exactly how I answered them though which probably isn't a good thing."

"Well if you were in the same state you're in now, you were probably half asleep. Come on, you can rest in the living room while we get dinner ready." She grabbed Kurt's coat and scarf, putting them on the bench in the front hall before shooing Kurt into the living room. The tall male, now left alone, toed off his shoes before settling down on the couch, intent on just lying there for a little while. Before he knew it, he was asleep.

Coraline came in a little while later, frowning when she saw Kurt with his knees tucked up in the fetal position. His too-pale lips were parted and a crease was on his forehead. In a maternal act she brushed it with her thumb, proud of herself when it went away. Quickly covering him with a stray blanket she left and went to slow down the dinner process. It could wait another hour.

* * *

**Damn. That is one long chapter (over 4,000 words.) The longest so far! In the words of Mr. Figgins: ACOMPLISHMENT!**

**Okay, I'm one of those people who really really loves visuals to go along with what I'm reading. So when I start a fic I like having an actor/actress to base a character off of. Therefore, I figured sharing them with you to help imagine them might result in something interesting in those little brains of yours! If you like whomever you thought up better, more power to you!**

**First up, Coraline: **_**Lucy Hale**_**. She could literally be Darren's lost sister.**

**Second there's Camden: **_**Kevin Zegers**_**. This changed, so I'm not really sure about this one, but I guess he works.**

**Third, Serena: **_**Jaime Pressly**_**. God, I absolutely love her personality.**

**I think that's it. If any more characters pop up I'll add their face-claim later on.**

**Kisses!**


	6. Chapter 6

**(A/N: 1) IMPORTANT: I had a lovely nony named **Lily** ask me a question that I'd love to respond to. Yes, Blaine is involved in the rape that will occur later but he is NOT the rapist – it'd break my heart if he was. Everything will be explained further about **_**how **_**Blaine is involved, but I'll go ahead and tell you that he didn't necessary do anything wrong, as far as he knows. I really appreciate the questions and I hope that you'll stick with it, Lily (I also hope you see this, I didn't know how else to answer your questions.) That's all I think, so enjoy.**

* * *

**So I figured I'm going to start being a little more professional and start all this fancy shmancy stuff up at the top. Feel free to ignore it.**

**Rating: **M

**Disclaimer: **I wish I did, but I don't.

**Warnings: **Language, Rape, M/M

**On scenes that are extremely visual I will put another warning at the top here, but just know reading this that there will be pretty vivid scenes of rape and smut. If it's not your thing, then I understand if you want to stop reading.**

* * *

**My Only Sunshine**

**Chapter 6**

Kurt woke up dazed to the sound of chatter and plates clinking. His back popped as he sat up stretching, smiling softly at the blanket he found. Coraline.

Shuffling toward the kitchen he found the couple getting things ready for dinner. "Good evening, my lovelies." He chirped happily, the lucious sleep-induced haze putting him into a better mood than he had been previously.

"Does that mean Sleeping Beauty's finally awake?" Camden joked from where he was taking plates down from the tall cabinet.

"You make it sound like I was asleep for days."

"An hour and 7 minutes, if you were curious."

Kurt just rolled his eyes and grabbed the linen to help set the table, "See if I ever take a nap at your house again." He brought over the extra placemat and napkins, setting them down on the counter.

When Camden was finally done getting the plates down he went to the table to set everything out while Coraline put the salad and pastas into bowls, bringing them with her to the table. "Hey, where'd the last placemat go?"

"The counter?" Kurt raised an eyebrow in question at her, worried about her math skills. "There are only three of us."

Camden's sheepish expression before he mindlessly started to make sure everything was absolutely perfect and the quiet footsteps of someone coming down the steps were enough for Kurt's mind to short circuit; wonderful sleepy oblivion long gone.

"Camden _fucking _Gallagher I hate you so much it's not even _funny_ you lying son of a bitch." He hissed, sitting down in his usual chair as he glared with all his might at the now paniced man who raised his hands in innocence.

"I swear I didn't know when I went to pick you up!"

By now the source of the feud was walking into the kitchen, jean cut-offs and a cardigan on. _At least he still has good style._ Kurt thought bitterly to himself before instantly remembering _who_ had the sense of style. This was bad. _Really_ bad. Worse than the time Camden got his knee stuck in the railing on the deck, or the time when the manager of the store he loved yelled at him.

"Glad you could come out of your room, Blainey." Coraline teased, taking as seat beside her husband.

Blaine looked up to glare at her, his eyes eventually falling on Kurt and stopping the retort he'd had planned for his sister. "What are you doing here?" He rushed out, eyes wide.

Kurt raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest; raising his chin defensively. "No offense, Blaine, but they _are_ my friends."

Blaine didn't know how to answer to that, mouth opening and closing as if he wanted to say something before deciding against it and taking the seat across from Kurt, making it practically impossible to not have awkward eye contact.

"I keep forgetting that you two know each other! From Dalton right?" _Either she's an even better actress than I thought,_ Kurt mulled, _or she doesn't have a clue._

"And McKinley." Kurt grumbled, taking a drink of his wine. It probably wouldn't help with his head ache, but right now he didn't care.

"Show choir." Blaine threw into the conversation, trying to give equally as vague information Kurt was.

"You sing?" Coraline gasped, looking at Kurt.

"I don't think we knew that, did we?" Camden asked, glancing at his wife then back to Kurt while obnoxiously slurping a noodle into his mouth.

"I don't sing anymore." The tone that Kurt used was final and almost cold, expecting the topic to be left alone.

"What?" Blaine asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "But you moved to New York to sing. It was your dream."

"Dreams change." Kurt snapped. "People change. So I stopped singing."

Blaine dropped the topic after that.

Conversation thankfully drifted back to a lull, talking about random things like Kurt and Coraline's movies, clothing, Camden's cases, and even the _weather_ at some points. It didn't matter if they smiled and discussed the new cover of Vogue, the awkward tension was palpable in the air.

"How's school going Blaine?"

Blaine looked up at his brother-in-law, "It's . . . It keeps me busy. I'm starting as a TA when I get back."

"You're going to be a teacher?" Kurt found himself asking.

Blaine looked a bit shocked, seeing as it was the first form of conversation they'd had since the beginning, but nodded nonetheless. He'd always been good at being put together.

"A music teacher."

"Wow." Was Kurt's intelligent response. "I always thought you were going to become a recording artist." As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted it. Why had he said that?

Blaine smiled, but it was nothing like his usual dizzyingly, dapper grins Kurt remembered so well. This one was only a slight lift of his lips, no bright whites and no skin crinkling around his eyes. "Dreams change." Blaine said softly.

Eventually they all finished, each of them pitching in to help clean up – Camden less than the others – before Kurt started on his way out the door.

"And what exactly are you doing, Mister?" Coraline asked with a hand on her hip. If Kurt shuddered, it was because he was frightened for the kids she would have in the future.

"Going home?"

"You know that you stay over on Dinner Nights. Especially when you've been drinking."

"No!" Kurt said, possibly a little too quickly. "I mean . . . I'm not feeling very well and I was planning on calling in sick tomorrow so I could sleep in and I don't want to get anyone else sick. Really I'm just saving all of you the distress by going home."

"That's crazy, Hummel, I'm always the one you call over to help you get better. Go to your room and lay down, seriously. I'll bring you some tea."

"Cor . . ." He shook his head, knowing that there would be no way out of this.

"Go!" She swatted at him with a dish towel and he finally – once again; it was like he had absolutely _no _free will when it came to the Gallagher's – gave in, walking up the stairs and down the hall to where his respective room was located. Usually it was only used as a guest room, but seeing as he was usually their only guest, they'd taken to calling it 'Kurt's room'.

He stripped and pulled on pajama pants he'd left over before crawling into the soft sheets, eyes fluttering closed even though he knew after his nap he shouldn't be this tired. That fact didn't stop him from falling asleep a few minutes later.

* * *

_There was blood. He could smell it. Feel it running down the back of his leg. His sobs shook him, not being able to get any breath from where his face was being pressed into the floor. Maybe if he held his breath long enough he'd pass out and wake up when all of this was done. Or maybe he'd never wake up at all._

_He let that thought take him away, the thought way more comforting than it should be._

"_Please, just let me go." He whispered brokenly, stomach knotted and sick._

"_Not a chance. Now shut up and stop crying, you pathetic whore." The voice snarled into his ear, making him shiver in not pleasure but fear. He could die, and he really didn't want to._

_A rough and firm hand forced his legs apart again. "No, please!" Sobs clawed their way past his sore throat, escaping in shrieks of fear._

_The hand wouldn't stop, and eventually he was pinned down and so vulnerable._

"_You are mine now, babe."_

"_NO! Stop! Blaine! Blaine!"_

"Kurt. _Kurt._ Wake up. Come on, it's just a dream. Wake up, love. It's nothing." A soothing voice cooed into his ear a second before he shot up in the darkness, panting. Tears burned at his eyes, marring his ability to look around at his surroundings but he stubbornly refused to let them fall. Right, he was at Coraline and Camden's. He was asleep. He'd had another nightmare. And then Blaine–

Blaine.

He was sitting on the side of the bed, looking worriedly at Kurt as his hands stayed in the air uncertainly.

"It was just a nightmare." Kurt eventually said after they'd had a brief stare down. He began wiping off the tears running down his cheeks. Damn it all to hell, it's been a year since I've cried. "I . . . It's nothing. I'm fine. Go back to bed."

"You said my name." His voice was quiet, uncertain he should mention it but certain that's what he'd heard.

"I usually do."

"But why?"

"Because you were there, the night of the party. You were there and . . ."

"And what?" He leaned forward, golden eyes glistening.

"And nothing."

"Kurt, you can't just keep doing that. It's not _fair_."

"Life's not fair, Blaine. It's time to grow up, get your head out of the clouds, and understand that some things just aren't meant to be fixed."

Blaine recoiled like he'd been slapped, standing up and heading toward the door. Once he got there he turned back around to look at the still teary-eyed male. "I just never in my life thought you would need fixing."

And with that, he was gone, out of Kurt Hummel's life for good.

* * *

That wasn't exactly true, they practically ran into each other as Kurt snuck out of the house just as the sun was beginning to rise. They didn't even make eye contact, Kurt quickly brushing past him and out to the waiting cab. It was awkward, but that tends to happen in those kinds of situations.

Months later the TMZ interview aired which found Kurt, Serena, Camden, and Coraline sitting in his living room with bags of popcorn.

"I can't believe they're bashing her more on her inability to walk because she's so drunk over the fact that her underwear is showing." Coraline pointed out, sticking a few pieces into her mouth before settling back into her spot in Camden's arms.

"I'd rather see underwear than nothing." Kurt quipped, attention on the TV.

"Are you sure it was going to air tonight?" Camden asked.

"Do you doubt my ability to read?" Serena scowled, glaring at the scruffy man.

"I'm just saying that there's about 10 minutes left and we haven't even seen anything yet so there might have been a mix up and you –"

"Shut up!" Coraline commanded, firmly placing a hand over his mouth while staring at the screen.

In the clip Kurt was slinking toward the car, dark circles and pale skin prominent after having washed them off in his trailer. "Hey guys, how are you doing?"

A loud voice cut over the interviews noise, the track making a halting noise before soft music like you would hear coming out of a music box started to play, "He looks like a china doll. His cheeks are just so rosy, oh my god I can't stand it!"

"We've got Kurt Hummel leaving the set of The Night Before." A guy spoke, the footage now from TMZ 'headquarters'.

"Kurt Hummel?" The host (something Levin? Kurt couldn't remember).

"Is he the really cute gay guy?" A blonde asked, turning around in her chair to look at the brunette who in return nodded.

"He's like one of the chillest guys I think we've ever interviewed, and he says it's the first time we've ever got him. So our camera man says something about popping his TMZ cherry."

The clip goes back to the first interview, ""Figured it was time to pop your cherry."

Kurt hid his face in his hands at seeing his mortified expression on the television.

Again, footage is back to the studio where the entirety of the TMZ cast is rolling in laughter, Levin with his head on his forearms as he leaned over, shoulders shaking.

"And his face is just absolutely priceless." The brunette who started the interview tried to control his laughter, sounding a little strangled. "Then, did you hear about the guy getting arrested at the Hollywood sign?"

Levin looked up, his jaw slack, "It was him?"

"One of his friends got naked, and they all got arrested."

The interview was back, Kurt talking again, ". . . my friend convinced us it would be a good idea to start a nudist colony at the Hollywood sign. He was the only one that could get undressed before the cops were there."

"Then, at the end of the interview he gives a shout out to his dad and you can tell that he's just waiting for the phone call of his dad, like, scolding him." The brunette finally started to laugh. In the real world Kurt only turned redder at his own friends howling with laughter.

He could hear himself give the sheepish, "Hi dad." And then the loud voice was back.

"Here's a list of other places socially unacceptable for a nudist colony that everyone in the world would be alright with Kurt Hummel starting. Mount Rushmore, the Eiffel Tower, Yellowstone National Park, The Empire State Building."

The segment was finally over, but his friends continued to laugh. He rolled his eyes and started to collect the dirty dishes that had been scattered around his living room, ignoring the listing of places that his friends continued to shout out.

"I don't understand why I'm the one that is getting shit for this when Cam is the one who stripped!" He shouted from the kitchen.

"Because you're the one that admitted it to TMZ!"

Well, he couldn't exactly argue with that.

Once everything was cleaned and back in order he went back into the living room, clapping his hands. "Alright, everyone who isn't staying get out."

"Also known as, Serena get your ass off of my couch I love them more than you." The agent teased while standing, brushing off her skirt.

"You said it, not me." Kurt kissed her cheek as she left out the door. "You two, off to bed. I've got an early morning."

"Fine, Mr. Grumpy-gills." Like the two year old she really was at heart, Coraline stuck out her tongue on the way down the hall to where Kurt's guest bedroom was located.

"Night Kurt!"

"No funny business!" Kurt shouted the same reminder he did every time they were over to their retreating backs before going to his own room and collapsing in a tired heap on the neatly made bed.

* * *

**(A/N: 2) Hope you enjoyed! This was kind of just a filler chapter, especially toward the end. I want to spread out the big stuff more but that's basically all that's in this fic – action, action, big action, HOLY SHIT DID THAT JUST HAPPEN, action, action . . . – with the occasionally fluff ball thrown in. More coming soon!**

**Kisses!**

**Melanie.**


	7. Chapter 7

**(A/N:1) Hope everyone had a fantastic 4th to whom ever celebrates! Mine was a bust. :( Fire warnings = No fireworks. **

**Big chapter here, lovies. That's all I'm gonna say. No big warnings.**

* * *

**Rating: **M

**Disclaimer: **I reluctantly admit I do not own Glee, just the nasty little plot bunnies jumping around in my head.

**Warnings: **Language, M/M, Rape

* * *

**My Only Sunshine**

**Chapter 7**

In 5 years, Kurt had only had one run-in with his past. A simple conversation with Wes after running into him in a New York café. It honestly wasn't even that awkward, seeing as Wes had distanced himself from Ohio almost as much as Kurt had.

_"I mean the only person I really talk to anymore from Dalton is Blaine. You two broke up a while ago didn't you? I was shocked to hear it, you two were like the match made in gay-heaven."_

And that was the only time Kurt had allowed himself to think back to high school days with blazers, canaries, impromptu performances, and his friends. Which is why seeing not only his family (including Rachel; Kurt was still wary of calling her his sister-in-law soon) and Blaine in a relatively close period of time had made him think that he wasn't likely to see anyone else from New Direction's or even the Warbler's for a _very_ long time.

His guard was down, he wasn't keeping a very good watch, and he had a buzz from the excitement of the fans that had lined up to meet him. Kurt would smile at the person, pretend to be enthralled by the chatter they threw at him, and sign whatever was placed on the table before they moved on to the next cast member in line.

That's how she came out of nowhere, practically just appearing in front of him.

A picture of him in a ridiculously flashy silver and black outfit and a studded glove with backup from Brittany and Tina was slapped down in front of him. Kurt could only grip his Sharpie tighter and stare at the photo before looking up into the chocolate brown death glare coming from Mercedes Jones' eyes.

"You going to sign it, or do I not get even get that?"

"'Cedes?"

"Oh you do remember me? I didn't think you would for a second there." Mercedes' voice was bitter.

Kurt couldn't make his brain function enough to come up with a quick retort. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think I'm doing, Hummel?"

"I honestly don't know." He motioned for the next person to hand him their poster and forced out a smile at them. If it came off as more of a grimace, he honestly couldn't help it. Mercedes put a hand on her hip and stepped a little back.

"Do I need to get security?" Serena asked, leaning down to whisper it nervously into Kurt's ear.

He shook his head with a small laugh, looking over at Mercedes again. "She's harmless."

"I'll show you harmless here in a second, Porcelain."

"Serena, will you take Mercedes to get a cup of coffee or something so she doesn't get thrown out before I get finished?" He asked, smiling warily when the agent reluctantly nodded and motioned for the fuming woman to follow her.

Eventually Kurt did finish after everyone was told to go home by a man with a microphone. He stood from his chair and shook out his stiff limbs, trying to buy time before facing his old friend. Kurt fought with himself, the fight-or-flight instinct kicking in so fast he was rooted to the spot.

It was unneeded, because when he turned around she was already there.

"Don't think I didn't see you eyeballing the exits."

Kurt just shrugged in return, watching her with a guarded expression.

"I heard that even Rachel got a hug, but I don't?" Mercedes' voice was softer, although the fire in her eyes had Kurt wondering if he really should.

He just gave another wary smile and leaned forward to envelope her in an embrace. "She attacked me. I just stood there while she had her way." Leaning away he rubbed her back.

"She made it sound like you two were the best of friends again."

Kurt frowned at that, "I expected she'd say that. Mercedes, I don't think I can ever be friends with someone from our high school again. Not like I was."

"It's not like I expected you to. I just . . . Why, Kurt? We had no idea what was going on until Blaine started running around town, seeing if anyone had seen you. When I went back to Chicago, I never heard of you again. It was like you became this distant memory that we all knew about but it was known to never bring up. You even got a different number? Moved away? It was – none of us, not even _Blaine_ knew why."

"And I'll tell you the same thing I told him: You never will know." He shook his head incredulously before walking past her. "It's my 'secret to bear'." Kurt turned around to show her the quotation marks he was making with his hands.

"I don't believe that. It's eating you up inside. Telling someone always helps." Mercedes quickly walked to keep up with his long strides.

Kurt laughed humorlessly, "I have told people. Support groups, therapists, et cetera."

"They have support groups for break ups? That would've come in handy in Lima."

He rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest when they walked out into the cold, "Not exactly."

"So . . . You're saying that whatever made you cut all ties to Lima, and Blaine has a support group. It messed you up so bad that you had to go to a therapist?"

"I don't want to talk about it with you or anyone else that I knew. That was the point in leaving."

"It's a little unfair though, don't you think?"

"No. I'm not being unfair to any of you. People have breakups and people stop being friends all the time. What's not fair is that when I finally get my life back together, everyone keeps showing up to remind me how unworthy I am of it." His voice was thick with unshed tears, but the anger and frustration were still clear. "I'm fine, and I'm happy with the life that I've established here."

"Kurt, I didn't come here for you or for me. I came here for Blaine."

The words cut at him more than they should have, more than he should have let them.

"I see." He said softly, because of course she would be here for Blaine. Blaine was the victim in this mess, and Kurt was dubbed the evil villain. Kurt was the bad guy in everyone's eyes, and Blaine was going to remain innocent. It's how Kurt had made it, and how it would stay as far as he was concerned.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mercedes shake her head in disbelief, her eyes taking him in. "You're not the guy I thought you were, Kurt. I always thought you were so strong and good. But you're not. You, Kurt Hummel, are pathetic."

Pathetic.

You're pathetic.

A loser.

No good.

_You're a whore._

Kurt dragged air into his lungs in a strangled gasp. He blamed the wind for his suddenly watery eyes. His heart hurt, and his head felt like it was going to explode with the amount of memories that threatened to cave it in.

"I have to . . . I need to go." The words came out in barely a breath as he stumbled into a run away from the startled girl.

"Fine! Run away, just like you do with everything else." Mercedes shouted at him while he continued to ignore her as best as he could. The funny thing about ignoring people is that no matter how hard you try not to, you still hear every word they say. It still claws at your mind and emotions in ways that nothing else can.

Kurt flagged down a taxi a block away, panting for breath as he slid into the seat. After rattling off the address he settled into the leather, trying to calm his pounding heart. Kurt's hands shook in his lap, making him realize that he'd left his satchel with Serena. Head resting in his hands once again, he didn't realize that the taxi had stopped until the driver's gentle voice asked him if he was okay.

"Yeah. Um, thanks." He quickly rasped out while giving him the fare.

Kurt scampered down the walk and to the front door, ringing the doorbell and after a few seconds knocking. He heard scuffling behind the door before he stopped, rubbing briefly at his tired eyes, that were no doubt red, as the door opened.

He opened his mouth to start talking, looking up, and then immediately stopped. _You're not gone yet? Why are you still here? Where's Coraline? I need to talk to her; you need to go away. I can't see you. Please, leave me alone; why won't you just leave me alone?_

"Kurt? What . . . God, are you okay? What happened?" Blaine asked, furrowing his brow as he opened the door fully.

"I need your sister. Is she here? Or is she still at the shoot?"

"She and Camden went on a date."

"At the Plaza. Right." The memory of Coraline babbling about it dawned on him and he suddenly felt 3 feet tall under the other man's gaze.

"Kurt, you look like you've been crying . . . What's wrong?" Blaine's voice was tentative, soft, and Kurt flinched.

"Your groupie thought it would be comical to crash my cast signing." He ignored the crying comment. Kurt Hummel didn't cry, didn't show weakness. Not to anyone . . . Except for Coraline Gallagher who seemed to be missing with her husband.

"My what?"

"Mercedes."

"I thought she was kidding when she said she was going to – I'm really sorry." Blaine's voice was quiet, and his eyes were wide and honest as they looked into Kurt's own.

"I just came here for Coraline. I have to – to . . . Get ready for – I mean . . . " He didn't know what he meant, but there was no way that Kurt was going to admit he had come for a shoulder to cry on. The young actor turned quickly, pulling his phone out to call for a taxi so he could go home and get as far away from Blaine Anderson as he could.

A tanned hand shot out and grabbed his elbow. God, he could still _feel_ it. That electricity that ran through him whenever Blaine touched him, making Kurt feel so alive, so in love. The jolting awakening that made his heart flutter and his toes curl . . .

"I cheated on you, Blaine."

The hand removed itself like he'd been burned.

Without looking back Kurt took off down the too-long-for-a-dramatic-exit driveway. He hadn't meant for it to come out of him like that. If he could he would go back and swoop the words out of the air before they reached Blaine's ears. It made that night all the more real, and he knew that before long it would reach everyone that Blaine was still friends with. Mercedes for sure, Finn, Rachel, which would inevitably cause his parents to know, and then Coraline – he wasn't going to have a friend left. He would be alone again.

At least he was used to it by now.

The taxi arrived 30 minutes after Kurt called as he fought with himself not to cry on the street corner. Kurt Hummel didn't cry. He was stronger than that, he was a fighter. He wasn't going to give in and be weak because that just wasn't who he was. The sharp, stinging wind was to blame for the few tears that fell down his cheeks.

Later than he liked he let himself into his apartment, still with an uncomfortable lump in his throat. He didn't know what to do. He was tired, which wasn't unusual, so instead of tidying up the apartment like he'd told himself he would this morning, he settled into the couch to watch reruns of Project Runway. Not even 10 minutes into it, he was asleep.

* * *

**(A/N: 2) Whoa. Did that really just happen? Hm. Guess so. Before you throw tomatoes at me, even more things will be learned next chapter and we will see another member of the New Directions – anyone want to take a guess at who it is?**

**Until next time! Kisses.**

**Melanie.**


	8. Chapter 8

**(A/N: 1) This is going to be the chapter everyone has been waiting for – you'll finally learn what happened and **_**who**_** the big bad wolf is. I hope you all enjoy – I'm bringing in another character that I absolutely love.**

* * *

**Rating:** M

**Disclaimer: **I'm sadly not Ryan Murphy but if I was there'd be an equal amount of Klaine and Finchel . . . Maybe.

**Warnings: **Dark themes, M/M, Language.

* * *

**My Only Sunshine**

**Chapter 8**

Kurt woke with a jolt, sweaty, with his heart thumping loudly in his chest. He couldn't breathe. There was a 100 pound weight sitting on his chest, and he wondered briefly if this is what it felt like to have a heart attack.

_Fuck, fuck, shit, oh god, I'm having a heart attack. It's in my family, I knew this was coming. No amount of organic food and yoga was going to prevent it._

Fumbling for his phone beside the couch he managed to get it settled in his shaky hands after dropping it several times back to the floor. His vision was blurry and he couldn't figure out why until a cold tear fell onto the phone.

He tried to take deep breaths as he dialed a number, but his lungs wanted more and he couldn't get enough air in fast enough.

"_Hello_?"

"S'rena . . . I think I'm having a heart attack – I-I don't – know what to do!" He gasped out sobs into the device while leaning forward.

There was silence for a beat before she started to panic. "_Oh my god, Kurt! Shit! Just_ . . . _Breathe_; _how the fuck? You're 22! There's no way_!" On the other side of the line a crowd was starting to quiet down around her. "_Look, honey, I'll be over soon. Don't move and damn it, breathe."_

Kurt threw the phone back onto the floor and curled into the fetal position on the couch, shucking off the blanket. It was only getting worse and worse, his sobs making it harder to breathe and increasing his panic.

The slide of the lock made him open his eyes in time to see Serena walk in. She didn't look as worried as she had sounded on the phone, although her face was solemn.

"Hey, hun." She said quietly, sitting down and pulling Kurt toward her while she shushed him.

"Serena?" He bawled, not able to voice that he needed to be driven to the hospital before he died in his apartment.

"You're having a panic attack, Kurt. Just breathe. I know it hurts and it's scary but just breathe through it." She said softly, and it was the first time that he'd ever heard her be gentle with even him.

He did what she said though, sobbing while taking as deep of breaths as he could as the weight on his chest started to decrease bit by bit. Soon only his tears remained, but she still held onto him until he drifted off.

It was the first time he'd fallen asleep in someone's arms in 4 years.

Kurt slowly awoke to the sound of someone softly talking a while later. His eyes were gritty and his throat was sore, and he could only vaguely remembered why. Serena? Was she still here? Cracking his eyes open to see, he caught sight of the small woman standing looking out of the window with his phone pressed to her ear.

"I don't care who you are, and what this is about. He's asleep right now and I'm not waking him up; he had a long night and just needs to sleep."

She paused to listen and Kurt's eyes drifted back shut against the morning sun's glare.

"What does that even mean? I don't know what Lima Heights_ is_." Serena said, her confusion obvious.

His eyes snapped back open. Lima Heights. Santana.

"Give me the phone." He rasped out. Serena looked over at him, not moving.

"Go back to sleep, Kurt. You still don't look good."

"Give me the phone, Serena." He said again, this time clearer and with a leveled gaze that told her not to mess with him.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine, but if this sets off another attack then you're shit out of luck. I have to get going, kid." Handing him the phone she leaned down and pressed a kiss to his head before slipping on her shoes and grabbing her jacket.

His hands shook again as he looked at the number on the screen.

"Hello?"

"_Hummel_."

"How are you, Santana?"

"_Fine_."

"Well that's . . . Good." He replied awkwardly, not knowing what to say or what to do. Why had she called him?

"_I was talking to Mercedes yesterday_."

Oh.

"_Turns out they were at Blaine's sisters in LA or something and they both had some dramatic moments with you_."

He knew where this was going and instantly wished he could rewind to before he had woken up. Why had he taken the phone?

Santana continued, "_You know, even during that little incident senior year with the other fairy at that music store I didn't peg you as a cheater_."

"Did you call to yell at me? I've heard it all, Santana. I really don't need this."

"_I came to ask you why_."

"Came?"

"_I'm standing in nipping weather right now in front of your building. Can I come up_?"

"Are you going to start pulling razors out of your hair as soon as I open the door?" He retorted, resting his head back on the pillow, making him realize he had been moved to the bed sometime during the night. _When did she move me in here_?

"_Possibly_."

Kurt rattled off his apartment number before hanging up. Multiple missed calls and text messages waited for him when he looked back down at his phone. Finn and Rachel? _Why did they call me . . . I haven't heard from them since Christmas._

"Anybody home?" The loud voice of Santana Lopez called out.

"In here." He called back, quickly getting out of bed and dashing to the closet.

"You do look like shit, the chick was right. I thought it was like a sin or something in your religion to sleep in your clothes." Her voice came from the open doorway. He glanced over his shoulder from where he was pulling down a shirt to look at the beauty that was Santana. Her outfit was actually one he thought suited her – a red blouse and white jeans – and her hair was all in its place like usual.

"It was a long night."

"I can see that." She waltzed in like she owned the place, or at least had been there multiple times before, and sat down on the unmade bed.

He fumbled with the clothes in his hands, standing awkwardly with a raised brow as he waited for her to leave so he could get dressed. "Do you mind?" He hissed.

She shrugged, folding her legs after taking off her heels. "Not at all, I always enjoy a good peep show."

He bit his tongue to stop any lewd comments from being spouted and quickly switched clothes from his now-wrinkled outfit he'd worn yesterday, to a simple pair of tight jeans and a long-sleeved shirt.

When he was done he turned to her, taking a deep breath. "Coffee?"

"Sure." She followed him from the room and into the large kitchen where he plugged in the coffee maker.

"When are you going to start yelling?" He muttered, pulling down cups from the cupboard.

"I don't know yet. Maybe later, it's too early right now." Her nonchalant tone confused Kurt. If she was pro-Blaine along with the rest of whomever been told, wouldn't she have pounced on the opportunity to tell Kurt how awful he was?

"It seems like everyone is just popping up in LA all of a sudden."

"I would hope so. We have a reunion every year. Guess who the only one who never shows up is." Santana took the offered cup of early morning joy and looked over the rim at Kurt as she held it in her hands.

"Mr. Schuester." He muttered, standing across from where she'd taken a seat at the breakfast bar. "Which you can't really blame him, he does have school."

"Well you're still a sarcastic bitch aren't you?" She said almost . . . Fondly? Kurt shot her a confused look before turning back to his own cup.

"Some things never change. Whose idea was it to have it here?"

"Rachel's of course, who else would it be? She said something about Finn and her visiting you for Christmas and how you'd have to go if it was close to your house or something." Santana's lips curled back in obvious distaste.

"I hope at least you're smart enough to realize I won't be joining the group for karaoke night at some bar."

"We only did that once, thank you." Was the haughty reply . "Like Berry would actually be caught dead in one of those bars sober."

"Touché."

"Heard you had a little run in when Mercedes got here yesterday."

"That's nothing compared to the first run in with Blaine." At her demanding look he continued. "He had to bail me out of jail."

Her eyes bugged out, clearly not expecting that answer. "What?"

"I'm friends with his sister and her husband – which in my defense I didn't even know he had a sister – and we got arrested on New Year's. The only person we could get to come save us was the mystery brother I'd been hearing about whom now seems to have taken up a permanent residence in their house."

"Damn. That's rough."

They were silent for a while.

"If you're not here to scream at me about how I ruined his life, why are you here? I know you, Santana, and I know that you don't just stop by for coffee."

"Maybe I made an exception for you, Lady Lips."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Fine," She sighed. "I'm here simply because you very obviously need someone to talk to."

"And so you can go run and spill the information? I don't think so."

"Look, I'm a few things but one of them is not a snitch. I won't tell anyone anything you don't want me to. Like I said, Hummel, I never saw you as the cheating type so there has got to be more to this and I want to find out what it is."

They were silent again while he evaluated her, taking in what she was saying and really thinking about if she was being honest.

"Who was it?"

"Huh?"

"Who did you cheat on Blaine with?" She said it slower, as if he was an invalid or didn't understand plain English.

The word hurt him more than it should. Cheater. Like he was some filthy monster for having committed the act. Which in reality that's what it was; he was a disgusting person who would have to live with himself for the rest of his life. But he didn't even want –

"Sebastian."

"Smythe? The one with the muskrat face who you thought was scum?" The Latina all but spat out her coffee, her expression one of pure amusement.

Kurt sharply gave a nod.

"Blaine dated him a while after you left. We convinced him to."

Kurt's eyes widened on their own accord. "Is he okay?" He rushed out, the worry gnawing on him as he thought of what might have happened to him.

"Sebastian? I guess. They didn't even last a month –"

"Not _Sebastian_." He grimaced around the name. "Blaine. Was he okay? Sebastian didn't . . . He didn't . . ."

He couldn't bring himself to say the words.

"What do you mean, Kurt?" Santana asked slowly, her eyes narrowing as she caught the whiff of something just not right. In high school she had always been the person that just always _knew_ and it was almost a breath of fresh air to him to see that some things never changed.

He turned around, clenching his eyes together tightly. "You should leave. I have a meeting for an audition later today."

"Kurt . . . Why wouldn't Blaine be alright?" Santana's voice was uncharacteristically soft.

It took a minute of silence for Kurt to respond, and when he did he felt like he couldn't stop.

"My therapist said that I didn't cheat. Not really. But to me that's exactly what it was. I had sex with Sebastian while I was dating Blaine, any way that you look at it. No matter how many times I hear, 'It's not your fault' I still know that it is." He couldn't start crying; not in front of her. Not in front of anyone – not anymore.

"Therapist?" Was the hushed reply as Santana got up and moved to stand next to him.

"The hospital issues one after . . . I went to the hospital when I got back to New York. After I'd packed everything up from our apartment and moved it all out. He pushed up his sleeve and showed her the faint scar that ridged its way along the inside of his arm. "7 stitches, 3 staples."

"S-Sebastian . . . He did that to you?" She sounded alarmed but he refused to look up and meet her gaze.

"I didn't want to have sex with him, Santana. You've got to believe me." He whispered, clenching his eyes together as a tear escaped.

"He raped you."

He gasped as a sob tore through him, quickly raising his hand up to muffle the sound.

"Oh my god, Kurt. _Kurt_." She wrapped her arms around him tightly, allowing him to press his face into her neck as he cried like he hadn't allowed himself to do in so long.

* * *

**(A/N: 2) I feel like it's almost cliché to make it Sebastian, and honestly I really like Sebastian's character on Glee (Grant Gustin = Yummy) but I figured everyone always writes Karofsky as the rapist and so I wanted to be part of the 20% that writes it as Sebastian.**

**Yippee for Kurtana! **

**Next chapter is where the M warning will definitely come into play, we'll find out what exactly happened on that night at the party and how Blaine is involved.**

**Until then; Kisses!**

**Melanie. **


	9. Chapter 9

**(A/N: 1) *WARNING* This chapter isn't for the weak hearted . . . I'm giving you a fair warning because if you read the last chapter, you know what this chapter is about. Hopefully it gives some good insight and I know it's angsty as fuck, but stick with me.**

**And, I accidentally updated wrong so if you got two alerts, that's why. So sorry if I got your hopes up, lovies.**

**ALSO! I know it's only been a few days since I last updated, but today's my birthday and I am just in such an amazing mood that I figured why not (and then updated with some angsty shit)! And also because I love you guy so freaking much. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! :D Much love!**

* * *

**Rating: **M

**Disclaimer: **:(

**Warnings: **Klangst, Dark Themes, Rape, Language, M/M in later chapters.

* * *

**My Only Sunshine**

**Chapter 9**

Kurt didn't know how long it was before his sobs became silent tears, but Santana held him the entire time and stayed strong while he couldn't. She was only the second person that he'd opened up to in years and the only person to ever know the extent of what had happened aside from doctors and therapists.

"You need to tell him, hon." The Latina whispered, pulling back a little to look into his eyes. "You guys, out of any of us, were the couple that was going to make it and it's not fair to let some creep ruin that."

That only set off another bout of tears that had her confused and slightly even more worried as she watched this incredibly strong man tear himself apart.

"He . . . Santana, he – he knows."

Santana's expression was enough to display her confusion as she shook her head, no doubt trying to put everything together herself. "No . . . Kurt, he didn't know what happened and now he thinks that you cheated on him."

Kurt ignored the fact that Blaine _thought_ he'd been cheated on. He_ knew _that Kurt had cheated on him, because that's exactly what it was. Kurt cheated because he was a disgusting, worthless person who wasn't strong enough to protect himself.

The Latina lead Kurt to sit down at the kitchen table, pulling their chairs close together so that she could have one arm secure around his waist and the other grasping at his hands.

"It was the night of the party. The one just before I left. I didn't want to go, and Blaine promised me that we wouldn't stay long."

"_Kurt, come on. It'll be great. Everyone's in town for Christmas break, and I know that you wanted to see Mercedes before she left again." Blaine's pouting face gazing at him from the driver's seat of the car made him return with his own – less effective, obviously – pout._

"_I just want to stay at home with my handsome boyfriend, re-memorizing every little thing about you."_

_Blaine's blush and smile at Kurt made his heart practically skip a beat. "If you promise to be cordial to everyone then I don't see why that can't happen when we get back."_

_Kurt bit the inside of his cheek, contemplating his options. He did really want to see Mercedes . . ._

"_Fine. But only if you promise that you won't get drunk."_

_Blaine smiled brightly and quickly opened his door, coming around to Kurt's side to open it for him. When Kurt stepped out and gave him a sly smile in thanks he grasped their hands together as they walked toward the house._

"_I have only gotten drunk once before in your presence, Mister Hummel."_

_Kurt shot him an amused look, "And that ended in you making out with Rachel Berry which led to a sexual identity crisis."_

_Blaine grimaced in memory before lighting up like he'd just been told a good joke, "Isn't it at least a bit amusing that you used to have a thing for Finn and for like a day I had a thing for Rachel."_

"_I thought we promised to never bring up the Finn thing again!"_

_Blaine laughed, a loud and joyous sound like Kurt reveled in. "You're right. No more talking about Finn."_

"_Speak of the devil." Kurt muttered as they walked inside, turning the corner and almost walking straight into the wall that was his step-brother._

"_Kurt!" Finn shouted, a bright smile taking over his usually crooked and dopey one as he leaned down to pull Kurt into a giant hug. "When did you get back in town?"_

"_Clearly not late enough to be exempt from the party."_

"_You're going to have a blast, and you know it." Blaine teased, elbowing him gently before tugging him past Finn and downstairs where a loud group was partying in full swing._

_Only five minutes after being there Kurt lost sight of Blaine, being passed around from person to person as he caught up with a few. There was even a group of Warbler's present, standing in the far corner and occasionally mingling with a person on the 'other side of the tracks' as they all jokingly referred it._

"_Can you believe Rachel invited him?" Tina asked, looking over his shoulder at the group of boys._

"_Mmm. Who?" He asked, half paying attention. Tired from his flight he was just about ready to grab his boyfriend and bring him home where he could ravish him properly._

"_Sebastian." She hissed his name like it was a curse._

"_He's here?" He asked glumly, already knowing the answer._

"_We haven't really heard anything with him since he apologized for crashing our last party, so I don't know why she invited him."_

"_Maybe he's a tag along. Didn't want to be left in the dorms alone at Christmas time." To be honest, Kurt could care less that he'd shown up. He and Blaine had dealt with the conniving and troublesome boy last year, and honestly he didn't want to start anything while he was so tired and could barely think of a sarcastic remark quick enough. He knew that Blaine and Sebastian had become friends since his own graduation and while it still bothered him, he trusted his boyfriend – not so much Sebastian – and knew that nothing would happen._

"_Have you seen Blaine?" Kurt asked, catching Rachel's elbow as she danced past. She giggled and swayed a bit, not stopping her ridiculous dance._

"_I don't know. Have you?" She cackled like it was the funniest thing in the world while he just rolled his eyes and let her continue on her path._

"_Last I saw he was over playing beer pong with a few Warbler's and Puck." Tina offered._

"_How drunk was he?" Kurt asked dryly, his mood already dampening. _And there goes my evening.

"_Judging by your tone, probably too drunk."_

"_I'm going to go find him and tow him out of here before the other part of my night is ruined too." He ducked to kiss her cheek and give her a tight hug before parting and pushing his way through the throng of people._

_It took twenty minutes of searching, and he still hadn't found Blaine. Kurt was grumbling to himself standing off to the side to be able to survey the area just as he felt an arm wrap around his waist._

"_Thank god. I didn't think I'd ever find – Oh." Kurt furrowed his brow as he faced the man who he'd thought was his drunk boyfriend, but was obviously not._

"_You were looking for me? Well if I would've known that, I would've come and rescued you sooner." Sebastian's wolfish grin and wink made Kurt's stomach uneasy. He tried to maneuver out of his tight grasp._

"_You're looking for Blaine right?" With a sharp nod of agreement Sebastian continued, "I'll help you look." He shrugged noncommittally, smirk still in place that caused Kurt's eyes to narrow._

"_Fine."_

_They looked for only a few minutes before Sebastian was tugging him back toward one of the halls where he claimed he'd seen a curly-headed hobbit scamper off to just a second ago. Fighting down the uneasy feeling Kurt followed him deciding that the sooner they found Blaine, the sooner they could go home._

_Kurt huffed, "I don't see him."_

"_Maybe he's in a room."_

"_I doubt it."_

_Sebastian ignored him, going to a room at the back of the hallway and opening it to peer inside. He laughed at something inside and then motioned for Kurt to follow him in. Figuring that his boyfriend had found himself in another ridiculous situation he followed._

_The door slammed behind him before he could so much as look around. The uneasy feeling still didn't go away, if anything it increased._

_A body was pressed against his, hands roughly grabbing at him as hungry lips sought out his own. He jerked away wildly, the door handle digging into his lower back painfully as he tried to get away. Not knowing what else to do, he bit down on the mouth – and tongue – that was trying to assault his mouth._

_Sebastian yelped and took a step back, seething._

_Kurt was in turn doing the same, although more appalled from what had happened. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"_

"_If I have to explain it to you, Kurt, you're dumber than I thought." He moved to step forward again, to which Kurt quickly stepped past him and away from the door into the room so he wasn't being cornered. He realized his mistake later than he should have; stepping away from your only exit meant that your aggressor could block you from leaving._

"_Let me out right now, Sebastian or I swear to god I'm going to start screaming."_

_The look in Sebastian's eyes caused Kurt's heart to jump into his throat, and not in the way it did whenever Blaine smiled at him or randomly told Kurt he loved him . . . The look of a killer stalking their prey, and Kurt was the target._

"_And ruin our fun already? I don't think so."_

_Sebastian was quick, quicker than Kurt was and with his height advantage over Kurt, he was at a loss. His hands immediately went to shove Sebastian away, only to have them pinned by the hands of his attacker. He went to his Plan B, getting ready to bite down on Sebastian's tongue again when sharp teeth pierced his own lip hard. He cried out in pain as he started to taste blood._

"_That's what you get for trying that shit earlier. Try it again and I'll bite your tongue off."_

_Kurt struggled harder, twisting and whipping his mid-section back and forth in attempts to break free._

"_Stop fucking moving!" Sebastian bellowed, the evil glint only made brighter in his eyes by the moon that was shining through the open window. He shoved Kurt hard down onto the ground and he hit the floor with a thud, his wind being knocked out from him in a whoosh of air. Sebastian leered down at him while he tried to fight the sobs that were bubbling up in his chest. Why did he always get into these situations?_

"_Please, Sebastian, please. Just let me go. I won't say anything, I promise." Kurt wasn't above begging in this situation, and the fact that he didn't know what was going to happen – but knew what could – terrified him._

_Sebastian just shook his head and then suddenly he was on top of him, his hands once again being pinned; only this time underneath him with both of their body weights holding them down._

"_You're going to shut up and stay quiet, be a good boy and you're not going to say a word when you leave. Got it?"_

_Kurt didn't answer, and a hand was smacked down on the hardwood floor beside him, causing him to flinch. "_I said_, got it?" Sebastian growled into his ear. Kurt's spine tingled with fear and his stomach rolled with waves of nausea but he still managed to quickly nod his head._

"_Good."_

_Kurt cried out when Sebastian moved his hands to rip the buttons off of his shirt. He didn't want this, he'd just wanted to find Blaine and go home – Blaine. _Blaine_. Blaine could help him. Save him._

"_Blaine!" He shouted, swallowing thickly to fight down the lump in his throat that came with suppressed tears. "Blaine!" His voice was shrill but he hoped that at least someone would hear him._

_A hand lashed out and before he could dodge it, the punch landed swiftly on the right side of his face. The shock masked the pain at first, and then it was there – making his face and back of his head where he'd hit the floor throb with pain._

"_I said to stay fucking quiet. What part of that don't you understand?"_

_The tears that Kurt had previously held in started to fall down his cheeks while he clenched his eyes shut._

"_I'm going to fuck you Hummel, so hard you're going to feel it for weeks, and there is nothing your precious little _boyfriend_ can do about it." He could hear the sneer in Sebastian's voice._

_And then suddenly hands were on his hips, the button on his jeans scattering as the zipper tore. His hips were lifted and then suddenly his hands were free. Kurt pushed away with what strength he had, barely moving Sebastian from where he was firmly straddling Kurt on the floor. Sebastian's hands grabbed at Kurt's waist, sharp nails digging into soft flesh and drawing blood, leaving bruises._

"_Don't even try that." Sebastian snarled down at him._

_Kurt cried out once more at the pain, "P-please stop. Don't do this, please." He sobbed out._

_His pleas were ignored as his jeans were yanked roughly down and off, leaving him exposed and oh so vulnerable. He shook with his sobs, trying to roll and get away to no avail._

_Strong hands roughly covered a pale body. Alcohol passed from the lips in the form of breath, fanning nauseatingly across his face. He wanted to vomit. He tried to get away, he really did, but the hands held him down – crushing his bare sides with their strength. It hurt. Everything hurt. God, why couldn't it just all end?_

"Blaine._ No, stop. Please. Blaine!"_

_And like a miracle from a god Kurt didn't believe in, the door opened followed by giggles as an unsteady form staggered in._

"_O-Oops!" They slurred happily, "Sorry about that. Carry on my fine s-sirs!"_

_And it was _him_; Kurt would know his voice anywhere. The beautiful, warm, silky voice that cooed to Kurt in song and was there over a phone as Kurt fell asleep 500 miles away. And he didn't care, didn't care that his boyfriend was being . . . assaulted, being _raped_ on the floor in front of him in his drunken stupor. The door closed and took his laughter with him._

"_NO! Blaine!" Kurt's screams would have rivaled any actor's in a horror film._

_Cruel laughter filled his ear, "I thought our fun was going to be ruined there for a second, babe. Keep it down though; the music isn't up high enough to cover anything louder."_

_Sebastian stood suddenly, allowing Kurt to finally breathe and curl into himself as he scrambled to get away, limbs flailing._

_And Sebastian just stood with an amused expression as he unbuttoned his pants and pulled them down slightly, leaving Kurt to feel even lower than he already did. "Hey, calm down, babe. You've got permission now remember? Even your boy toy is okay with it."_

_It made Kurt's blood run – if possible – colder. Blaine hadn't . . . Even absolutely shit-faced, Kurt knew that if Blaine was in trouble he would run to help. He would do anything . . ._

_He was just getting to his knees when rough hands grabbed him again._

"_No!" He screamed, trying to get away more but the hands were too strong as they pulled him back. His arm caught the metal end of a desk, the edge becoming a blade against his soft skin._

_And then a foreign – unwanted – hand was at his entrance and no matter how many different directions he squirmed, it was already there. It pressed further and further until it entered, Sebastian shoving in two fingers and not giving him any time to adjust._

_Kurt cried; the humiliation and guilt, horror, disgust and so many other emotions flowing through him._

"_I bet you like that, you whore." Sebastian growled, fucking into him relentlessly with his spit-slicked fingers causing a painful burn that was going to be nothing compared to – No. Kurt refused to let himself think it. It wasn't going to happen to him. It wasn't. He was too strong for that to happen to._

_A third finger was added and he cried harder, the pain and uncomfort that usually was balanced out with pleasure too much._

_He was flipped over suddenly, seeing Sebastian stroking himself as he held Kurt down with one hand before he realized he needed both to hold the flailing boy down._

_His nails tore Kurt's flesh again, and he could feel the trickle of blood already._

_He could smell it. Feel it running down the back of his leg from the cuts made previously. His sobs shook him, not being able to get any breath by how violently they wracked through him. Maybe if he held his breath long enough he'd pass out and wake up when all of this was done. Or maybe he'd never wake up at all._

_He let that thought take him away, the thought way more comforting than it should be._

"_Please, just let me go." He whispered brokenly, stomach knotted and sick._

"_Shut up and stop crying, you pathetic whore." The voice snarled into his ear, making him shiver in not pleasure but fear. He could die, and he really didn't want to._

_A rough and firm hand forced his legs apart again. "No, please!" Sobs clawed their way past his sore throat, escaping in shrieks of fear._

_The hand wouldn't stop, and eventually he was pinned down and so vulnerable._

"_You are mine now, babe."_

"_NO! Stop! Blaine! Blaine!"_

"_He's not saving you this time."_

_And then Sebastian's cock was there, so close to its intended spot. Kurt squirmed. _This isn't happening. No, not to me. It can't. Oh god, stop. Stop!

_He thought he was going to be sick when Sebastian entered, thrusting sharply into him. The pain burned; a searing white-hot pain that never stopped as Sebastian continued. He felt himself breaking, physically . . . Emotionally . . . In every possible way that you could break._

_No, Kurt was not a virgin. He had a well-established sex life that even remained over distance due to Skype calls with toys and visits home in hotel rooms. But he'd never been _fucked_ before. He was a romantic, and _made love_ to the love of his life. He'd never gone as fast as Sebastian was going and that just added to the grief of losing a first along with losing dignity to this monster._

_Ignoring it did nothing. No matter how many times he tried to picture a fashion show and Blaine's sweet face with caring eyes, he couldn't leave that room at Rachel Berry's house and he couldn't leave what was going on._

_He felt like he was suffocating, drowning. The tears were like sea water before they slowly stopped, but the weight – both literally there and figuratively – never lifted._

_Then like everything else, it was over. Sebastian came inside him, panting in his ear and groaning while Kurt laid there silent, not moving, barely breathing. He stared at the ceiling as Sebastian stood up, smirking down at him as he tucked himself back into his slacks._

"_If you tell anyone what happened tonight, babe, I'm going to _kill _you before giving your boy toy the same treatment." And with that cold departure, he left._

_Kurt laid there, numb, for what could have been hours until he finally heard the music being quieted as the party drifted to an end. He stood up and pulled on his clothes as well as he could with the missing buttons – which he zipped his jacket up all the way to hide – and then exited._

_His life, as he knew it, was over._

* * *

**(A/N: 2) *Sobs in corner* I AM SO SORRY!**

**Well, now we know why Kurt is upset with Blaine - along with a lot of other things we just learned (like Sebastian is a disgusting prick..)**

**Tell me what you all think; I absolutely love to know. Your reviews seriously make me smile. No joke, I smile like a crazy person at my laptop.**

**Melanie.**


	10. Chapter 10

**(A/N: 1) More Kurtana goodness for everyone after that hell of a chapter. This one's really _really_ short compared to the last one. Actually, it's short in comparison to any of them. But I hope you enjoy anyway. More of a fluffy, less angsty chapter that's filler for the one coming up.**

**I just wanted to quickly say thank you so so much for the wonderful reviews. They mean a lot to know that there are people out there actually reading and enjoying this. When I first started I really didn't think anyone would look at it, much less sit down and read it.**

**Kisses!**

* * *

**Rating: **M

**Disclaimer: ** Why must I have to admit my defeat? v.v

**Warnings: **Klangst, Dark Themes, Rape, Language, M/M in later chapters.

* * *

**My Only Sunshine**

**Chapter 10**

"I remember when you walked out. None of us ever understood where you were or why you looked so . . . _Empty_. We just couldn't put it together. You walked out of the hallway and straight past Blaine, not even giving him a glance before you just _left_." Santana's hold on his arm would have been painful if it hadn't been what was keeping him tethered. Not away in haunting memories from the past.

"I flew out that night; told my dad that if anyone came by to tell them I wouldn't be back. When I got back to New York I just couldn't fathom going back into that life like nothing . . . Like nothing had changed. Like my whole world hadn't just been completely flipped upside down and then got torn apart piece by piece."

Santana was silent, a feat that rarely was accomplished, as he stared at the far wall. He didn't know what to expect from her. Not wailing and blubbering about how life was unfair – because that simply wasn't the Santana he remembered at all –, maybe rage against his perpetrator, a threat with razors hidden in her hair. He didn't expect her to bring him into her arms without a word, just holding him while he got his bearings back and tried to put himself back together after the emotional trauma that always came with thinking back to that night.

"I'm here for you, sweetheart. I know I wasn't, and I haven't been, but I am now and there's nothing that you can do that's going to make me leave." She leaned him back after pressing a kiss to his head – an extremely different gesture from her than what he remembered of the girl. "In fact, we're going to have a fun time. I'm going to get my things, and then I will be occupying that nice looking guest room down the hall, alright? And we're just going to have a damn good time watching movies and snuggling on the couch today."

"I have work. And since when do you like to snuggle?"

"People change, Hummel!" She stuck her tongue out mockingly in his direction as she pulled out her cell phone and even though she was trying her hardest to be joyful and care-free, he still saw that she was treading water safely with him right now. "So I'm going to head over there and grab my things before we go wherever actors 'work'." She made it into a joke, raising her hands and making her fingers into quotation marks.

"We?" He stood from his spot, blinking his eyes to get them to stay open and try to get the grittiness out.

"Of course we. You really think that I'm going to be cooped up like a dog all day in your apartment? There's no way in hell. Therefore I expect you to give me a backstage view of whatever you're doing today."

"Bring your coloring book then because sitting in on interviews is equally as boring."

"I guess it depends on how fun you make it, huh?" She winked at him and sent off a quick text.

"I'll be ready in a second." He muttered, not knowing what else to do to convince her that going with him would probably be a big waste to her day and knowing that if the glee group was all in town they'd already planned something to do together.

Spending no time at all, he grabbed his bag from his room along with his cell phone and met up with Santana who was waiting for him by the door.

"I figured we can stop by a café for breakfast." He suggested, following her out and locking up before leaving.

"Sure. I could use a good cup of coffee. You're paying though."

And so Kurt's morning consisted of coffee and croissants, slightly-awkward conversations with Santana, driving to her hotel to pick up her things, and then going to the venue where the meet-and-greet would be held before the interview. Just like he'd guessed, Santana was bored within the first few minutes and spent most of it off camera making remarks about anything and everything she could.

The awkward tension followed them to the next day, neither of them bringing up the giant weight that hung above them. The topic that had been broached and then fully charged into, leading into a slight personality change for a moment in both of them, Santana was being uncharacteristically nice to him and Kurt was being more open about everything. At least to each other. To everyone else they came across as two of the most sarcastic and bad-tempered people they'd ever met. But shockingly a friendship was mended and built upon the few days that they spent together. It'd been a while since he'd had a friend that knew _everything_ and it was relieving for him.

"Hummel, dinner!" Santana barked into the living room, grabbing the pan she'd been cooking in off of the stove and flitting across the kitchen to dump some of the contents into the two bowls waiting.

Kurt made his way to the table, watching her as she burned her finger, sticking it into her mouth as she cursed and scowled. He laughed in amusement, "I thought we agreed to let me do the cooking?"

She shot him a withering glare. "I just thought I'd be nice." Plopping down across from him in a chair she sat the bowls down and pulled out a bottle of wine that had been setting – unnoticed – on one of the chairs.

He raised an accusing eyebrow, "What do you want?"

Her innocent eyes didn't fool him. She might act nicer, but she was still Santana and Santana _always_ had a motive for being overly nice to anyone. "I have no idea what you're talking about. People can't schmooze their friends ever once in a while?"

"Others can, but _you _can't. Not without looking like you have a plot behind it."

"Just shut up and eat your pasta, Lady Lips."

The dinner was spent sending her accusing looks which she pretended to ignore, even going as far as putting everything away. He figured that she was just in a weird mood and sat down with her on the couch with a musical – she'd agreed to watch RENT without so much as a frown – playing on TV while he read a script Serena had sent him home with.

"So . . ."

"Hmm?"

"You want to do something tomorrow night?"

He shrugged, flipping the page. "What do you have in mind?"

"Just hanging out with some people at this place. There'll be free drinks, I promise."

"Any vaguer and I might actually agree to go." He said sarcastically, looking over the rim of his glasses to see her gauging his expression.

"I want you to go to the Glee Club reunion with me."

He laughed, shaking his head in amusement and going back to his script. When she didn't say anything he looked back up, "Wait . . . You're serious?"

"Of course I'm serious. This is a touchy subject."

"You do realize that everyone _but_ Finn and Rachel hate me, don't you?"

"Britt doesn't hate you. She just doesn't like what everyone thinks you did."

He rolled his eyes, having given up on correcting her ages ago. "I don't understand how you and Brittany managed to break up on such great terms."

She shrugged, "She was my best friend before anything else. That stays with a person. Besides, we knew it wasn't going to work the second we graduated."

He stayed silent.

"Okay, and so maybe there's a lot of people in that group – mostly everyone that was still in Glee after we graduated – that don't like you. Kurt, I just . . . Jesus, I don't understand why you don't tell them."

His spine stiffened and he could feel himself closing off. He knew that this was coming. The conversation he'd had countless times with countless strangers who he was sent to in order to '_get help'_.

"You don't realize that amount of _pity_ someone gives you when you say that you went through what I did. At first it was nice. People apologized for something they didn't do, and they would feel so bad for me. But after so long you get sick of it. Sick of people not understanding but pretending they do, and that look that they give you . . . It's too much. It's embarrassing."

She took time to digest what he'd said, nodding her head a little. "But you told _me_. And I thought that I was helping you. I love you, Kurt. You're special to me and you don't even realize how special you were to everyone else in that group."

"So you think that I should go to this thing, call a toast and just say, 'Now I know almost all of you think I'm the scum of the earth for cheating on dear Blaine, but I just wanted to share with you a little something'? San, it doesn't work like that."

"Then just stay with me the whole night. We can sit at a table with Rachel and Finn and pretend to be too cool for the rest of them. How does that sound?"

"Not very fun."

"But there's free booze, and are you really going to pass up a night with your brother, sister-in-law, and me? Who you haven't talked to in years."

"You're really trying to guilt trip me into this now?"

"That's exactly what I'm trying to do. Is it working?"

He sighed and took off his glasses, narrowing his eyes while biting his cheek. "Sometimes I really hate you."

She smiled, turning back to the TV. "But the rest of the time you love me. Now let's watch something _good_."

* * *

**(A/N: 2) Guess what's coming next chapter. Mwahahah! I'm evil and going to make you wait forever for an update . . . I kid! I wouldn't do that to you. Next chapter shall be out soon.**

**Mwah!**

**Melanie.**


	11. Chapter 11

**(A/N: 1) Big chapter here, kiddies. I hope you enjoy. We get to see a lot . . . Well . . . Pretty much _everyone_ in this chapter. So like I said, it's BIG. Tell me what you think!**

* * *

**Rating: **M

**Disclaimer: **Why must I have to admit my defeat? v.v

**Warnings: **Klangst, Dark Themes, Rape, Language, M/M in later chapters.

* * *

**My Only Sunshine**

**Chapter 11**

"I don't know how you got me to come to this thing." Kurt whisper-hissed, trying to control his breathing and heartbeat.

"Because you need to live a little, Hummel." Santana smirked, rubbing at his back while they walked into the large dining room.

"And I especially don't understand why everyone gets dressed up and goes to dinner. We're a Glee Club. Going to a Karaoke bar and getting wasted while we grind up on each other makes more sense than this." He crossed his arms over his chest firmly, clearly uncomfortable.

"You would take any reason to dress up and everyone still knows it, babe." She teased.

Kurt flinched at the nickname, holding himself just a little tighter.

"We're with the New Directions." Santana abruptly told the hostess who smiled and nodded telling her to follow them.

He tugged at his tie and went back to having his arms around his waist, "God, who would buy that dress. And look at those shoes. Do you smell that? Something smells absolutely raunchy."

Santana just rolled her eyes and smirked as he continued on with his pessimistic depicting of everything that came in sight.

"Just in that room, someone will be right in to get your drink orders."

They nodded as she walked away and he stopped Santana from walking around the corner.

"It's late. I'm really tired. You know, I think I'll just head home and catch up on some sleep. I wanted to get an early start tomorrow so I could go running at the park and – "

"Okay, seriously, Hummel? Get a grip. You look damn sexy in that suit and I look fierce in this dress so there's no way we are not going in there to show that off. _You can do this_."

She roughly grabbed him by the waist and tugged him along beside her, turning the corner where the wall was creating a barrier for a private room.

Everyone was laughing and talking to each other. Faces that he hadn't seen in years all looking so familiar and yet different from years of age. People were taller, slimmer, thicker, there were different hair styles – about time someone cut of Joseph's dreads –, and yet it was like walking straight into his memories nonetheless.

"Kurt!" Finn cried happily at the arrival of the two. It caused the chatter to die down, and then stop all-together as he jumped from his seat beside Rachel to barrel toward Kurt.

"Uh, Hey . . . Finn." He accepted the hug his brother gave him, Santana letting go of him in the process.

"I can't believe you actually came! Especially this year with all the . . . Well, you know." He rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Well, I figured it'd be rude not to show up since I live here."

He nodded as if that was the answer for everything; a dopey grin on his face while he went back to his seat and Kurt went to take the empty seat next to him while Santana sat between Artie and Brittany. On Kurt's other side was Quinn who, surprisingly, gave him a small while when he glanced over at him.

"I'm glad you're here Kurt, I've missed having someone put Rachel in her place every year." She teased.

Kurt smiled, thankful for the light conversation, getting ready to answer before he was cut off.

"Why are you_ here_, Kurt? You weren't invited." Mercedes voice was harsh, cutting into him. This girl, the very same one who was giving him a look similar to what one would give gum on the bottom of a shoe, had been his best friend at one time; had been his first real friend in high school.

"I . . ." He didn't know what to say for one.

"Hey Mercedes, shut your trap or I'll do it for you." The force behind Santana's words was so strong they were practically felt.

"I'm sorry?"

"I didn't stutter. Stop picking on my boy, or I'll put my hand in your pretty little face." The elegant bun wasn't a high ponytail like she'd had in high school, but it was still sassy and intimidating as she whipped around to stare down her opposer.

Mercedes looked confused. "Since when are you buddy-buddy with _him_?"

Kurt's jaw clenched, the disgust so clear in her voice, in the way she wouldn't even acknowledge that he was there and that he could hear her every word. It hurt, hearing the same tone his tormentors had used in high school falling from her lips – the same girl who had once promised him that nothing would ever come between them.

"Since I stopped to listen to what he has to say. More than some people can say, huh?"

"He shouldn't be here." Tina's voice was soft and she refused to look in Kurt's direction.

Santana's glare turned icy as she sat down the water she'd been sipping. "He deserves to be here more than _other's_ at this table." The way her glare trailed to Blaine left no question as to who she was referring to.

Kurt stood up, "No, San, they're right. This was stupid; I _told_ you I shouldn't have come. I'm just going to go."

"You're going to leave without even saying hi to me first, babe? What a shame." The voice was cold, familiar, and caused Kurt's skin to crawl as he felt the blood rush from his face. He had no choice but to sit down, his knees practically giving out as he kept his gaze firmly on the table in front of him.

It was silent, the only sound coming from rustling fabric of someone walking before they sat down in the seat beside Blaine. Kurt didn't need to look up to know that a shit-eating, smug grin would be plastered on his face while he was all over him.

The conversation started back up again, starting soft as the awkward tension still was thick in the air. The waitress came by to get their orders, in the process giving Kurt weird looks that he tried to ignore. His gaze remained on the table. A vibration from his pocket caused him to jump, Quinn turning away from her conversation with her husband to give him a worried look.

Quickly taking out his phone he glanced at the new message that was on the screen.

_Kurt?_

Slowly, and a bit hesitant, he glanced up to peer at Santana from across the table. She wore a worried expression, eyebrow raised with her lips together in a tight line.

He knew what he must look like. A wide-eyed, pale faced scared deer who's just realized a car is headed straight for him. Santana motioned with her eyes toward the wall, silently asking if he wanted to leave. His heart hammered in his chest as he shook his head very briefly, knowing that if he were to stand and leave it would be the first indication that something was wrong and he couldn't let that happen. He couldn't let Sebastian know that he'd told anyone. He had to protect Blaine. Even after all this time, he still had some weird hero complex when it came to the curly-headed man.

Santana shot him a worried look as he quickly looked back down at his salad, picking at it with a fork. He knew that if he tried to eat anything now, it would most likely end up somewhere not in his body in only a short amount of time.

"Is your food not good, sir?" A quiet voice timidly came from behind. He shot up from his slouched position to find a waitress standing there awkwardly.

"Oh, no, it's great. Absolutely fabulous. I love it." He knew his words sounded fake and rushed but he couldn't help it. Spearing some lettuce on his fork he quickly shoved it in his mouth, making an exaggerated 'mmm' sound that made Finn break out into loud laughter and Quinn laugh daintily beside him. He swallowed with a blush, giving the young waitress a small smile.

"Actually . . . I was wondering if I could get an autograph. I absolutely loved you and Coraline Gallagher in Fashion's Night Out. I usually think all the model movies are really clichéd and lousy but it was just _amazing_." She gushed, a blush of her own heating her cheeks.

"Oh well thank you, honey, I'd love to sign something for you." The table had gone quiet once again, and he could just feel the eyes of former class-mates and friends on him.

The girl handed him a paper and a Sharpie which he quickly wrote down a message and his name before handing it back with a smile to her breathy thanks. He nodded to her before she hurried off out of the room. His gaze went back to the table in front of him.

"That movie actually was really good, Hummel." Puck's voice called over to him. Kurt slowly looked up to meet his gaze.

His lips formed a slight, unbelieving smile. "You actually watched it?"

"Hell yeah! Why wouldn't I?"

Kurt just shook his head, a smile playing on his lips.

"And I have to admit, I did watch it more because the chick that played Missy has a really nice rack."

Kurt felt his jaw go slack, eyes bugging out as he stared at Puck with an incredulous expression. "_Corie_? Oh my god, _Puck_!" He hissed, risking a glance at Blaine who was trying hard not to glare at the male with the grown out hair, gelled to spike in what looked like a salute to his previous mohawk. Kurt almost didn't recognize him.

"What?" He asked, looking confused.

He shook his head again, trying to come up with an answer, knowing that Blaine most likely didn't want everyone to know that Coraline was his sister, which left Kurt in a tough place. "She's . . . She was my best friend. For a long time. I just . . . Her husband would probably kick your ass if he heard you say that."

"Husband?" Puck frowned at that.

"For almost 3 years now." Blaine's voice startled Kurt, but he didn't look back at the hazel-eyed man or the taller man sitting beside him_. I can't see him, he can't see me._ He childishly thought.

"Their anniversary is in a few weeks." Kurt said softly, looking back down at his uneaten salad, sadness running through him at that thought.

"You're not going?" The question was directed at Kurt, and he knew that the table was listening and watching their exchange with baffled expressions but Kurt refused to look up to know for sure.

"No." And he knew that he couldn't because by now the word had probably gotten to Coraline that he had been the one to break her little brother's heart years ago, and did it by cheating and running away. She probably hated him now and no matter how good of friends they were, family always came first.

A few awkward throat clearings later, the silence was gone and replaced with more conversation that Kurt chose to ignore.

"So what's with you and Santana?" Finn asked. Kurt looked over to see both his brother and Rachel looking at him curiously.

"She's . . . Helping me right now."

"With?"

Kurt shot him an icy look. "That's none of your business."

Finn looked over at Rachel briefly. "I think we already know."

"I think everyone already knows." Kurt muttered, tracing the rim of his glass.

"As family, shouldn't we get to know who it was with? Or at least what happened?" Rachel's voice was soft, but her usual gossipy tone was behind it – pushing for news.

Kurt hallowed his cheeks as he jutted his chin out stubbornly. "As family you should've been the first people I went to – if I couldn't do that what makes you think I can tell you now?"

He was harsh and he knew it, but despite the effect it may have later he couldn't help it.

"Can't or won't?" She retorted.

"_Both_," He stressed, "and it doesn't help when the entirety of this table hates me right now." Immediately turning away to effectively end the conversation, Kurt took calming breaths to settle himself down.

After looking up he caught Santana's gaze, giving her a nod before standing up. He'd had enough and the stares and whispers were getting to be too much to handle. He collected his phone, slipping it back in his pocket and then went around to her side of the table to join her as she got her small clutch purse. Santana stood and immediately clasped Kurt's hand in her own, threading their fingers together in comfort that Kurt desperately needed from someone right now.

"Santana, next time you look for a beard try finding one that isn't more feminine than you."

Kurt went stiff at hearing Sebastian's voice again, tightening his grip on Santana as she stopped walking to turn around. Her nails dug into the back of Kurt's hand but he knew better than to let go.

"You did not just say what I think you did." Her voice was low and calm, so different from how she would usually start a fight –with a loud, screaming voice that usually came with a finger point. Kurt kept his gaze to the wall, refusing to look back.

Once again the table went silent.

"Sebastian . . ." Blaine quietly warned.

"No," Santana insisted. "Let him speak. I'm interested in what the meerkat has to say because I have got so much of my own to share with the world."

Kurt's heart beat rapidly, the blood pounding against his eardrum causing the thudding to be even louder. He was shaking and knew that by now his face was even paler than it normally was. Oh god, was he going to faint? Collapse right here and embarrass himself even more than he already had?

"All I'm saying, is that Kurt isn't the Alpha male, are you, babe?"

It made Kurt's stomach sick, and a shiver of nausea traveled down his spine. _Babe_. The pet name had once been so precious to him – what his first and only boyfriend had called him as a term of endearment. It had been ruined, and now was being used against him.

Kurt eventually turned, teary eyed as he shot a glance to Sebastian's smug look as he had his arm around Blaine's shoulder. "Please just . . . leave me _alone_." He pleaded and he knew that it came out so damn weak and pointless – only succeeding in making Sebastian's smirk wider.

"And if you must know, you insufferable prick, Kurt and I both are in committed relationships so there's no point in_ having_ a beard is there? So go on trying to schmooze that goon and you two can continue on with your pathetic, shit-hole lives." Santana finished with a smile and blew a kiss to a few shocked faces, ruffling Artie's hair as she pushed Kurt out.

Kurt refused to let any of them pick up his part of the check, so he paid for both himself and Santana at the hostess counter before leaving quickly and getting into a waiting cab.

Santana held him when he cried himself to sleep.

* * *

**(A/N: 2) Woah, man. Did that like, just happen? **

**Afraid so.**

**I hope you enjoyed. Drop me a PM or a review to let me know. I start classes back up in a few weeks so reviews may start to get a little hectic but I promise to not abandon this. ALSO! There's a poll up on my profile, if you want to check that out. Just asking which story idea I should make priority once this one is finished (they're all Klaine.)**

**AND, I started an account on Photobucket for this story. Since this site won't let us post the links, I'll just tell you that the account name is MyOnlySunshineFic and I'll post the official link on my profile sometime soon. There's a spoiler - nothing major - since I uploaded a picture that won't be relevent until next chapter but if you want to go look anyways, knock yourself out (but please not litterally, I don't promote self-harm.)**

**Kisses!  
Melanie M.**


	12. Chapter 12

**(A/N: 1) I'm kind of nervous about this chapter to be honest. It was a thought in the back of my mind and when my previous outline kind of went off-course, making my plan A for this chapter totally dissolve – I basically pulled this out of my ass. Hopefully it turns into something worth-while and you'll like it! Probably not many chapters left, I'll give you a better estimate later on. Enjoy!**

**Also, the next chapter might take a little while to get out - I'm still working on it and tomorrow classes start back up so I won't have as much time. This story _will_ be finished though, damn it! **

* * *

**Rating: **M

**Disclaimer: **I wish I do, but I don't.

**Warnings: **Klangst, Dark Themes, Rape, Language, M/M in later chapters.

* * *

**My Only Sunshine**

**Chapter 12**

"You're going to have to let me go sometime, Minnie Mouse."

"Minnie Mouse? Really?" Kurt leaned back from his embrace with Santana to look at her incredulously.

She shrugged, a smile playing on her lips. "I'm running out of good nicknames. Come on, give me one last hug so I can smile for the cameras and we'll make this a Hallmark moment."

Kurt laughed while being pulled into Santana's arms once again. "You're twisted, you know that?"

Santana stood on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Kurt's cheek, "See you around, Hummel."

"I command you to leave, Satan." Kurt made a shooing motion with his hands that she just laughed at before walking into the terminal for her flight.

When she was out of sight, Kurt let the smile fall and wrapped himself tighter in his coat. Just in the amount of a week Santana had come and gone, giving him some hope and excitement in his life that was now flickering out like a candle. It was back to interviews, photo shoots, movies, and avoidance for the young actor, and he hated it. The old Kurt Hummel would have thrived in the attention he was receiving from everyone; but that was the _old _him. The younger, more naïve teenager who lived in a world where the worst thing to happen to him was a shove into a locker or a peck from a closeted jock.

Kurt sighed, keeping his head down as he trudged through the crowds with his hands shoved deep into his pockets. If the bitterness he kept locked away became vocal, Serena would insist on him going to see another shrink. That was on his list of what _not_ to do.

No one stopped him for an autograph or picture, although he did get a lot of looks and whispers. He handled it the same way he had in high school: Keep your head down, and pretend to not hear any of it.

The apartment was unusually silent when he got back now that Santana had left, taking her inane chatter along with her. He almost missed it.

For the rest of the lonely day he sat at the table reading emails from Serena and his last director, answering some fan tweets, and briefly talking to Santana when she got back home.

Around 9 he was pacing his floor, the forgotten script from a few days ago clutched tightly in his hands as he recited words. In a few weeks' time he would be auditioning for a new part in a TV drama show and Serena was already mad enough with him – if he showed up with nothing memorized she would surely kick his ass.

His phone rang from its place on the couch, Kurt snatching it up on his next pass by. Sparing a passing glance at the screen he paused, a sickening feeling forming in the pit of his stomach.

**Coraline Gallagher**

Kurt knew that he should answer the phone, face the onslaught of verbal abuse he deserved for hurting Coraline's brother like he had. Coraline had been Kurt's greatest friend for a while, and had heard bits about how much Coraline had wanted to give the evil person a bit of her mind. Just because it ended up being him didn't mean that Corie wouldn't still do it.

But Kurt was a coward. He let the phone fall from his hands and back onto the couch; going back to his pacing.

* * *

It was a simple interview that started it. All of the other times before he would gloss over his history, giving tidbits about himself that everyone already knew (he's from Lima, he had a few Neanderthal tormentors, he has a brother – that no one knows – and he has a deep love for coffee), and answer questions about his latest project. It was known that he didn't sing, which most people just took as him not having the ability to carry a tune, and he had gone to school in New York.

So when he sat down for his next interview, that had been what he'd expected.

It started off fine, the lady seemed okay and although it wasn't in a relaxed setting like his first interview, he'd been to enough like this that he was used to it. She asked if he was doing anything now, and he answered with enough mystery to get people excited at the prospect of a new movie. Next came his love life, which he had been expecting, and prepared to tell her that he was indeed still single.

"Everyone is just going _crazy _over the pictures of you and your girlfriend at the airport – and I have this picture of a coffee date," She pulled a photo from the table beside her while Kurt tried to find the right words to say, no doubt looking like a fish. The photo was handed over to him and Kurt quickly took in Santana and himself chatting, a cup clutched in the Latina's hand whereas Kurt's had been drained and thrown away previously.

It hit him suddenly, and he couldn't help the laugh that escaped him when he_ realized_. Officially, to the public, he'd never really come out. It had always just been _known _in Kurt's life that he never gave it much thought that people out there might actually think he was straight.

"Oh no no, that's a really great friend of mine. Absolutely _not _my girlfriend. I'm actually . . . I'm gay." The news caught the interviewer by surprise, though she recovered quickly.

"How did you two meet?"

"High school. We couldn't stand each other."

"Amazing how things change, huh?" And then she'd launched into more generic questions, never getting anything more personal out of him.

But just that little bit of information was enough to spike everyone's intrigue. No one _knew _Kurt Hummel's life. He just showed up. And while that had been perfectly fine before, now everyone wanted to know everything about him.

As it turned out, there was a person that was extremely willing to sell Kurt Hummel's secrets.

* * *

Kurt was at home when the first picture made news. It wasn't even Serena or he who saw it first, but Santana all the way back in Lima.

"_Hey, Boyfriend."_

"Hey, honey, I thought we'd go see a movie tonight? Get cuddly in the cinema?"

"_Oh you know just what I like."_

"What's up, San?"

Kurt couldn't help but smile at their banter, loving how unbelievably _easy _it was to talk to Santana now. _"Have you seen the news lately?"_

"From time to time. Did you hear about Aurora? All of those poor people."

"_Heartbreaking. Not what I was talking about, Hummel."_

"Then please, do enlighten me, oh wise one." Kurt stirred creamer into his coffee, inhaling the familiar scent with a slight smile. It was a good morning.

"_Someone's leaking photo's to the media."_

Kurt took a long drink of his coffee before responding. "What kind of photo's?"

"_Your parents wedding."_

It took a while for her words to process in his mind. " . . . What?"

"_I can even see the back of my head in it. Damn, from this angle Britt's taller than me."_

"San, why would someone leak that?"

Her voice was dry, _"I have some ideas."_ If Kurt was honest with himself, he could think of a few people who would have access to those kinds of pictures. _"Now if I were you, baby gelfling, I would be heading out to the nearest news stand and picking up a magazine."_

They talked on the phone up until Kurt left his building, pulling his jacket just a little tighter to his body and pulling the collar up just a little bit more to give him some sense of privacy.

There were already a few people at the stand this early, gathered around and talking to each other as they leafed through magazines. The majority were teenagers – most likely on their way to school – but there were a few curious business men and women who stopped to look as well.

"Excuse me." He muttered, brushing past a girl in a green coat who didn't even glance up from her copy of the trashy celebrity magazine.

When he'd finally pushed himself through the crowd, he caught his first real sight of the magazine. There was a picture of him on the front, from the photo shoot he'd just recently taken, and in big letters were the words: _**Who is Kurt Hummel?**_

With shaky fingers he picked up a copy from the shelf, pulling a wad of bills from his pocket and hastily throwing them on the counter to the wide-eyed man. It was even more difficult getting out, more and more people jostling their way past everyone else to get a copy of whatever magazine they fancied. From what he could tell, his face seemed to be on each one.

Kurt didn't allow himself to glance down at the magazine again until he was safely seated at his kitchen table, the magazine laid out in front of him.

There was another picture of him on the page mentioned along with two pictures of his dad and Carole's wedding. On the larger of the two there were names printed underneath. "_From right to left: Finn Hudson, Carole Hudson-Hummel, Burt Hummel, Kurt Hummel." _Then just as Santana had mentioned, there were the New Directions beside them – although no names were given for any of them.

To Kurt's chagrin, there was also an article.

_Actors for decades have been skilled in the art of deflecting difficult questions in interviews. None, however, have been quite as good as Kurt Hummel (_Fashion's Night Out_), 24. An already well known actor to the industry, Hummel is a well sought-after celebrity. It's well known that he is a good friend of Coraline Gallagher (_Fashion's Night Out_), 28, but aside from that no one knows much about Hummel's life. They know even less about his past life: The life before he was noticed as an actor._

_It's known to fans that Hummel is from a small town in Lima, Ohio and previously had problems with bullying in high school – now known that it was because of his sexuality. Never one to mention friends of family, we were all shocked when a picture of Hummel and a mysterious girl started to appear. It's now known that the girl (Santana Lopez, 24) is a friend of Hummel's from high school. But this just arose more questions. No one knows anything about Kurt Hummel._

_Until now. To learn more about the actor everyone is talking about, read further._

_For the politicians out there, you may recognize the next person featured in this article. Former Congressman Burt Hummel is in fact the young actor's father. To the picture to the left is a photo from Congressman Hummel's wedding to wife Carole Hudson-Hummel. Also shown is Hummel's step-brother Finn Hudson and high school glee club New Directions._

_Our sources say that the Hummel-Hudson's did have a falling out in previous years but have recently reconciled since Hummel has been recognized for his work. It still leaves us with the questions of _why _someone would blatantly refuse to mention family, and also leave us yearning for more information on the young star._

_Never fear – next week we will be featuring yet even more information on Kurt Hummel's past._

Kurt closed his eyes and massaged his aching temples, a pounding headache making his stomach roll in nauseous they could find something like this about him, who's to say that they wouldn't be able to find more?

This wasn't going to end well, and Kurt was terrified to see how far it would get before his new life came crashing down around him.

The phone sitting next to him rang shrilly, pulling him from his thoughts. Serena.

"_I need you to get up, get dressed, and be ready to go in 10."_

"Damage control?"

She paused, _"You already know?"_

"Early morning wakeup call from Santana." He sighed. "Who's the interview with?"

"_Entertainment Tonight. The car's already on its way so go wait in the lobby and we'll be there to pick you up in just a little."_

The call ended abruptly from her end. Kurt heaved a sigh and stood, only taking his phone and keys with him as he left. The apartment building's lobby was empty, save for the doorman flipping through a newspaper. It left Kurt with his thoughts which was something he dreaded at the moment. It never had been, but now . . . Now Kurt had to think of completely different things. Not only was someone who knew him – more likely _had known _him – handing over pictures and stories to the press, but just the information that came with that was risky. How vengeful was this person? Santana had said that she would try and deal with it from her end, but what if it was someone else? Someone none of them would ever expect? How much _did _they know; enough to humiliate him and bury his career forever?

The vibrations from his phone startled him, and he blinked wearily down at the screen.

He pressed the phone to his ear eagerly, desperate for a distraction and friendly voice. "Hey Finn."

"_Kurt? Oh thank god. You'll never guess what was on Rachel's magazine this morning."_

Kurt sighed, rubbing his forehead and clenching his eyes closed before opening them wearily. "I already know."

"_Really? Oh. Wow, news spreads really fast there."_

"It happens. Look, you wouldn't know anything about it would you? Santana is going crazy trying to find anything out and there said . . . It said there'd be more pictures."

"_Sorry, man. I don't know of anyone that would do that to you. Those pictures were totally private; unless it was someone in glee and that's just stupid because no one would do that to you. I'm real glad you and Santana are friends though, especially with . . . Well, you know. Everything going on. That Sebastian dude is a real creep. Wouldn't shut up after you left and even _Blaine _looked uncomfortable and you know him he _never – "

"I have to go, Finn." Kurt hung up quickly, the distraction that Finn had been providing quickly demolishing at the constant stream of chatter he was known for. Through the glass doors he saw a black town car pull up, the doorman setting his paper down and getting ready to open the door for whoever entered.

Kurt shook his head, shoving his phone deep into his pocket and exiting through the door that was held open for him. Outside a dull chatter was filling the air that quickly turned into a loud uproar when he was noticed.

"There he is!"

There were a few things that you had to get used to fairly quickly in Hollywood. First were all the celebrities you encountered. You had to learn how to treat them like ordinary people, and not freak out every time you saw someone you knew from a favorite film and simply exist with them. Next was the city. There were tourists shoved in with the already huge population and on good days the traffic was a wreck. Living in New York for an amount of time already steeled Kurt with a pretty good sense when it came to those things.

But being a person in Hollywood was completely different from being _famous _in Hollywood. There were parties, there were different movies, interviews, photo shoots, autographs, no amount of privacy, _everything._ And then there were the paparazzi.

Most days it wasn't bad. They simply milled about, snapping a few photos from the distance or stopping you on the streets with a few friendly questions with a camera in your face.

But whenever news hit, they were known to be aggressive and brutal.

Seeing as there hadn't really ever been _big _news about Kurt, when he stepped outside the flashing of cameras and yelling that came with startled him.

_Today was going to be a long day._

* * *

**(A/N: 2) Like I said, this chapter didn't really go the way I expected and it's going to drag out the plot line a little bit more but it'll definitely bring more drama into the story that I hope everyone will like.**

**Pictures are up on this stories Photobucket account: **MyOnlySunshineFic**. So if you want to go check those out just go right on ahead.**

**Until next time; Kisses!**

**Melanie M.**


	13. Chapter 13

**(A/N: 1) First off, I'm so terribly sorry for the delay in getting this out. I've just changed my major and it's been a hectic first month of class. I know it's not a very good excuse, but it'll have to do! Thank you for sticking with it, and all of the worried PM's – yes, I promise I'm still alive!**

**This is un-beta'd so that's my excuse for poor grammar and other various mistakes - I just had to get it out as soon as I could!**

**Read on lovely readers; read on.**

* * *

**Rating: **M

**Disclaimer: **Ryan Murphy & Co. denied my wish for partial custody of Glee. Damn it.

**Warnings: **Klangst, Dark Themes, Rape, Language, M/M in later chapters.

* * *

**My Only Sunshine**

**Chapter 13**

The next magazine article came the next week as expected. At first he didn't realize that it was really him, and if it weren't for the fact that someone literally stopped him and asked him to autograph it, he probably never would have on his own.

A long, long time ago Kurt Hummel played kicker for the Titans football team. Usually when he told people they would laugh, shake their head, and give him a _sure._ But there were other people who knew that he played football in high school, most likely people who went to that high school themselves. But now not only did _they_ know, but everyone who glanced at a magazine every now and again knew as well.

While Kurt sometimes felt ashamed for _why _he joined the team – how could he have really thought it would make him appear straighter? – he wasn't ashamed by the fact that he did play. Football's a sport, a violent one yes, but a sport none-the-less, and part of the American culture. It reminded him of Sundays sitting on the couch with his family and boyfriend in amusement as they all would jump and holler and curse whenever a play went the opposite of what they wanted.

It wasn't a Kurt Hummel scandal that was on the front cover of magazines, it was simply his life. A life that he was trying desperately to put behind him and for a while _forget. _Slowly and surely someone was making it impossible for him to. The nightmares that came occasionally now were starting to plague him every night; his days were spent day-dreaming in memories of a time that was so simple it was practically _perfect, _and then answering questions upon questions during interviews.

"Who would do this to you?"

"I don't know."

"Who knows you were a football player at one time?"

"An entire town."

"Do you want to tell us anything before it gets put in a tabloid?"

"No."

It continued for weeks, the only time Kurt left the apartment being so that he could grab the latest magazine or to go star in the latest interview Serena had set up for him.

The first week's picture wasn't so bad. His father had been a congressman, yes, anyone who really wanted to find that out probably could have. The next week was the football picture from that first game he'd won for the Titans, and while it still wasn't anything scandalous, it wasn't something someone who hadn't known him personally should have known.

The waiting practically killed him. He had to sit like a waiting duck for an entire week, gnawing off his fingernails in worried anxiety over what could possibly be brought up next.

Week number three it was revealed that he had been a cheerleader. Nothing was said about him winning regionals by singing the 14 minute Celine Deon medley entirely in French and he couldn't help the small amount of relief he felt. It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless in this miserable situation – then again, maybe the source just hadn't known.

Nothing could be done, according to Serena. The magazine was technically just producing tabloid photos like any other magazine did with paparazzi shots and unless they were paid an ungodly amount – which Serena found ridiculous considering how _un_scandalous the photos were – the pictures would continue each week like expected.

The next week made his stomach squirm. A photo of his dance of single ladies, backed by Tina and Brittany, with a printed out link to the full video on their website. It was there like promised; Kurt checked. It left him feeling nauseous and unstable, like he would vomit at any moment.

He really did throw up his breakfast the week after that. In the picture he was backed by swaying Warblers, each of them dressed immaculately in their Dalton blazers as he and Blaine sang their hearts out in front of everyone and to each other in the Regionals Show Choir Competition.

There was a video, although shaky and grainy, for that too.

Kurt didn't know how much worse it could get, but _knew _that it was far from over.

* * *

Kurt had watched interview on interview of his favorite celebrities back when he was in high school. He would judge what they said, what they wore, how they acted . . . He listened intently because that was going to be him someday. He didn't know how he was going to be famous – whether it was Broadway or Fashion Week; he certainly never thought Hollywood – but he knew it would happen so he'd liked to think he was preparing for it.

They all said the same thing: How much they loved what they do, but how there's so little privacy that comes with fame.

Kurt could never really grasp how that was a bad thing – being known when you were walking down the street, being recognized for your work, how could that be bad? A person wanting to know more and more about you was just simple flattery that made for good reading.

And then Kurt had become famous.

At first it wasn't so bad simply because no one knew how to get information on Kurt – everyone was just fine with what he provided in interviews.

Now though, seeing his face smiling back alongside _his, _Kurt knew exactly what all of those celebrities had meant. The sneaking around just to stay hidden, the feeling of invasion, of not having any privacy. The paranoia.

Having his junior year prom picture with Blaine's smiling face and Kurt's stupid crown smacked onto every tabloid seen was one of the biggest invasions of privacy he could think of.

He knew it was coming. Knew that somehow, the person who was out to hurt him would include the picture that would hurt most of all. The article included information about Blaine, their relationship, and Kurt being nominated Prom Queen.

But despite the blow, Kurt knew it was coming. He knew that this would get out and he knew that there were only a few people who had access to the pictures that were shown.

Before he knew what was happening, he was in a taxi, rubbing at his temples to fight off a slowly occurring headache, with the magazine clenched into his fists. He was done playing the victim – he just had to start showing it.

* * *

"Kurt?"

"Move."

Not waiting for a retaliation, Kurt pushed himself inside the home and away from the prying eyes of potential paparazzi.

As soon as the door was closed and they were in the living room, Kurt threw down the magazine onto the table and continued his pacing.

"How did you know I'd still be here?"

"I didn't. But I knew that Coraline would be out and Camden wouldn't bother dealing with me."

Blaine sat patiently on the couch, watching Kurt as he walked back and forth.

"You're the one that's been sending the pictures to the press, aren't you?" He was sure of the fact, no one else would –

"And if I was?"

Kurt finally stopped long enough to glare at him, "Then I'm going to ask you not so kindly to fucking _stop._ You don't know what this is doing for my career." He resumed his pacing.

"Then why'd you become an actor – that's all the press does."

"I became an actor because it's the only thing I could do besides sing."

"And cheat?"

Kurt stopped mid-stride, his blood going cold. "What?"

"The more and more I think about it, the more and more I get so angry about it. I just . . . Who was it?"

Kurt thought about it. The name sat on the tip of his tongue, so easy to roll off and just spill like water until he was empty and void of the secrets. "It doesn't matter."

"Ten tell me when. When did it happen?"

He could answer that. "The night before I left."

"At . . . At that party? The one – all of our friends were there Kurt!" He let out an appalled laugh, an ugly thing that shouldn't have ever come from Blaine; especially because of Kurt. "So if it weren't for Sebastian putting shit in my sodas all night, I would've walked in on you and whatever guy you were fucking?"

_If it weren't for Sebastian putting . . . If it weren't for Sebastian . . .If it weren't for – _"He what?"

"Huh?"

"What did Sebastian do to your drinks?"

"He . . . He put something in it. I don't know; rum or something – for all I know it could've been drugs. I don't remember anything from that night after we got there. I could've walked in on you and not have remembered a thing."

"You did." Blaine looked at him with a confused look, one eyebrow raised.

"You walked in and . . . You didn't even care. You thought we were – you didn't recognize me."

"What a relief for you two, then."

It was like all of the fight had drained from him – all of the hatred he'd been able to build up for Blaine cracking before he knew what had happened.

It was silent aside from Kurt's harsh intakes of breath.

"Something else happened, didn't it?"

Kurt shook his head frantically. He couldn't. No. He wouldn't.

"Santana wouldn't just flip like she did unless something else happened, Kurt. I know her. And I used to know you – why are you lying to me?"

"I can't. I can't tell you."

"So something else did happen. Kurt, just tell me!" He stood with wide eyes, making a move to grab at Kurt. He was sidestepped easily.

"Nothing. It's nothing. I cheated. I cheated on you, Blaine. Hate me and just . . . Let that be. I'm an awful person." His arms wound around himself, trying to achieve some form of comfort. Blaine was blocking the door and there was just no way to get out without pushing him out of the way.

"Please Kurt, tell me."

In the moments before you do something you know could go terribly wrong, your heart starts to beat heavily in your chest. Your breath goes really short – like there's some vacuum sucking it all away from you. Your mouth goes dry, and your tongue goes limp because you know, you _know, _that whatever comes out of your mouth next could go so horribly wrong. But you know that there's that small chance, that small possibility that maybe – just maybe – it could all go right and you'll finally get some semblance of a happy ending.

You open your mouth. Your heart stops. There's no intake of breath to be found.

"Sebastian. It was Sebastian."

* * *

**(A/N: 1) It's so short, I know. Hardly even more than 2,000 words and I feel so awful about it because you've been waiting for so long. But it's a big chapter, and the next chapter will be even bigger so I hope it's been worth the wait – I can safely say the next wait will be fairly long as well.**

**Just know that I am so thankful for every single reader that glances over this, and for those of you that take the time to review and ask how I'm doing in my personal life. I was just diagnosed with acute OCD and it's taking some getting used to dosage and stuff – my life is so hectic with school changes and now this that writing sometimes just isn't as big of an inspiration as it used to be. But I refuse to give up – I've come too far with this to let it drop.**

**On a higher note: GLEE IS BACK TOMORROW! I hear there are some Klaine / Kurt scenes that are going to make us need some extra tissues. Is it just me or has the hiatus been even worse than the last one?**

**Again, thank you so much.  
-Melanie M.-**


	14. Chapter 14

**(A/N: 1) I know I kind of left you guys hanging, and after this chapter you all are going to absolutely HATE me, but I've had this part planned out since forever – this is the really big part! Blaine's going to be figuring everything out and a confrontation (or two) is going to take place. Hopefully you'll enjoy it because it left me with wanting to rip my hair out with frustration trying to write it out so perfectly for my perfect readers.**

**I also want to give a giant shout out to **HarmonyLover**. You are the sweetest, love! Your reviews make me smile and it's just so nice knowing that someone cares (and actually reads my long-winded Author's Notes).**

**Also a big thank you to the wonderful **msdarque**. Once again you've proven to be the most wonderful reviewer in the world – a review for every single chapter? It makes my heart flutter! So thank you thank you thank you.**

**Lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots…. Of love.**

* * *

**Rating: **M

**Disclaimer: **Ryan Murphy & Co. denied my wish for partial custody of Glee. Damn it.

**Warnings: **Klangst, Dark Themes, Rape, Language, M/M in later chapters.

* * *

**My Only Sunshine**

**Chapter 14**

Kurt Hummel was strong. Kurt Hummel was smart. Talented. Funny. Determined. He was sure of who he was and so secured in the fact that he was going someplace someday no matter what the cost was. Kurt was the epitome of an underdog, of the engine who could. At least, the Kurt Hummel that Blaine knew was.

But Blaine didn't know this new Kurt Hummel. This cold, broken (no matter how he defiantly fought against it), shell of the man he used to be. But it wasn't just something that could occur to people. There's a moment, an occurrence in somebodies life that turns them that way. Seeing as Blaine hadn't been in Kurt's life for so long, he had no idea what that was.

He just knew that it had to be bad. Really bad.

Blaine had done some growing up over the years, and had come to realize that one couldn't simply hope for answers to fall directly into your lap. You had to go searching for them. So that's why when Kurt left abruptly after telling Blaine who he'd cheated on him with at that party, Blaine knew he wouldn't be getting answers from _that _source.

But there had been other people at the party that night.

There had been other people _involved _in whatever had happened that caused Kurt to leave – Blaine just had to know what had happened that night.

So Blaine dialed the number and when he answered, Blaine started to ask questions.

* * *

It had been a long day.

There had been an early morning photo shoot that had Kurt waking up at 5, and then interview after interview with magazines and gossip shows. He'd gotten the role for the last movie he'd auditioned for so there were fittings and getting to know the rest of the cast, and so so much more. He'd only been able to leave the studio at midnight and now was currently walking back from the park – trying to get some fresh air to clear his head.

He didn't want to go to sleep, because his dreams were sometimes worse than reality. In other cases they were so much better and he hated life when he woke up.

So he'd settled for asking the cabbie to drop him off at the park a block away from his building, hoping that the crisp night air would get that sinking, and desperate feeling out of his stomach.

It being after midnight, Kurt didn't think that there would be anyone out. Being a celebrity made him wonder around at the oddest times in order to never be seen, and maybe it was just the constant paranoia of being stalked by paparazzi, but he could have _sworn _he heard footsteps now that he was on concrete.

He thought about turning around to check, but didn't want to end up making awkward eye-contact with a homeless person that just happened to be traveling behind him. So he continued on his journey with his head down, watching his feet as he walked the desolate sidewalk.

When the footsteps started to go faster, his heart began to pump in his chest – something didn't feel right. Something was wrong.

The footsteps began thudding behind him, a panting, wheezing noise following along. His heart thumped like a rabbits, his breath getting caught in his throat. The steps were right behind him, in just a second they would be right on top of him.

A jogger passed, his music blaring from the ear buds stuffed into his ears as he dodged around Kurt.

Eventually Kurt stopped, letting his pounding heart calm down just a little bit more. He was on edge, more so than he usually was. Yes, it had been a horribly long week that just seemed to be getting worse, but he always managed to get through it. This was different, he felt like someone was watching him – someone getting ready to attack. Different than the usual stares and reporters he felt watch him. This was threatening.

Eventually Kurt continued on his way, shoving his hands deeply into his jacket and putting his head back down. It wasn't that much further to his apartment – he'd be fine.

Before he knew what was going on, he was being pulled into a dark alleyway, slammed back into the hard brick wall as his head spun sickeningly.

"Well look who it is."

Kurt fought, digging his nails into whatever skin his could find – when he made contact on the face, he swore loudly and then slammed Kurt back into the wall, making Kurt lose his breath.

"Do that again, you little whore, and I'll fucking slit your throat."

"And why haven't you already? You're not . . . You're not going to do that to me again, Sebastian. I'd kill myself before you could." His breath was weezy, his chest aching.

"Don't act like you didn't like it, baby." Kurt felt his stomach roil in disgust and fear as he scrambled to get away. "But I'm guessing you're such a disease ridden carcass now-a-days that it wouldn't be worth my time."

It was ridiculous that the sentence gave him relief.

"Then what do you want with me." Kurt wouldn't let himself cry. He couldn't, not again.

"Because I said that if you ever told anyone, I'd fucking kill you."

Bile rose in Kurt's throat and if it weren't for the harsh forearms pressing into his chest he would have tumbled over. No. _No. _He wouldn't . . . He couldn't have . . .

"What did you do to him?"

Sebastian's laugh was cold, "Nothing yet. I got a phone call the other day demanding to know what had happened at that party. I had to spill our little secret, baby. But apparently you'd already done that for me."

"Don't. Touch. Him." Kurt lifted his chin to glare at the sharp eyes staring back at him.

"The second your body is cold, I'm going to go to where he's staying and fuck him senseless and he's going to fucking _love _it."

Kurt kicked out a leg, managing a blow to Sebastian's chest but not before he had pulled out the switchblade that had been previously hidden in his coat pocket.

At first Kurt didn't even know what had happened. There was no feeling, but as Sebastian backed up with an evil smile on his cruel lips, Kurt looked down and could feel the sticky warmth on his fingers. There was a dull throb, increasing and building until it was a cold and unrelenting slicing pain. He began to shake, his knees giving away, and the last thing he saw before he was swathed in unconsciousness was the twinkle of stars overhead.

* * *

Coraline wasn't a mother. That was very obvious and probably wouldn't hold any amount of truth for a few more years – despite Camden's pressing. But having practically raised Blaine by herself, she had those maternal instincts just like any mother would. She was naturally protective over her family, like any good sister was, and hated seeing so much as a scratch on any of them.

Coraline also wasn't stupid. When Blaine and Kurt had laid eyes on each other again back in January, Coraline knew just who Kurt Hummel was to Blaine, and knowing how much joy he had brought to her brother, she decided to ignore it for favor of them working something out and getting back together.

For a while she had thought it was working, and then Kurt had begun to ignore her and she knew that nothing was going to work.

She'd gotten the story out of Blaine soon enough, finding out that Kurt had apparently cheated on Blaine before he left. But Coraline had a few more years on both of them and knew that something was wrong. She was a good judge of character, and Kurt was just too _good _to do something like that – too closed off for the only mishap in his life after Blaine to be cheating on his high school boyfriend and leaving town.

There was nothing that she could do but wait, worry, and become more and more depressed over the fact that her best friend was ignoring her. Coraline knew that Kurt didn't have many friends and knew that he was going through a harsh time; he needed someone to talk to that didn't work for him.

But when Kurt had managed to go for an entire month of avoiding her, she knew that it was a lost cause. To Coraline, Kurt was already in her family. She would do anything to protect him, and she had always thought he knew that – that she cared for him just the way that she cared for Blaine; even if they could both be insufferable idiots at times.

The phone call came late, or rather really early. She and Camden had gone to bed a few hours previous and she was sleeping soundly when her cell phone began to ring and buzz.

"Hello?" She muttered, not bothering to try and decipher if she knew the number or not.

"_Is this Coraline Gallagher?"_

"Yes?"

"_This is St. Luke's. We had a patient come in today and you're on the list of contacts when no other family can be immediately available."_

It was taking too long for Coraline's tired brain to catch up. "Is it Blaine? What happened?"

"_Um . . . No. Kurt Hummel was admitted around half an hour ago. We'd like you to come down and be available until his biological family can come in."_

"What happened?" Coraline had gotten out of bed, her heart thrumming fast as she pulled on a shirt and sweats. Camden had woken up by now, watching her with confused tired eyes. She threw clothes at him as well that he slowly and unsurely began to pull on.

"_I can't tell you that over the phone, Ms. Gallagher. You'll have to come down. We'll see you shortly."_

Coraline hung up the phone, not bothering with pleasantries as she raced about the room – pulling her hair up into a ponytail and grabbing her still half-asleep husband from the bed.

"I need you to go downstairs and get the car ready while I get Blaine."

"But what –"

"Just go Camden!" Coraline didn't give him any time to respond before she fled up the stairs, throwing open the door and immediately grabbing the first pieces of clothing she could find.

Blaine was sitting up in bed, rubbing at his droopy eyes. "S'going on?"

"Get dressed. Come on, come on. We have to hurry."

He changed with his eyes still partially closed; too tired to be embarrassed by his sister still in the room making sure he didn't fall asleep. When he finished Coraline grabbed his arm roughly and they quickly left the house, Coraline having to drag her brother to the car.

When they were on the road and the boys were finally awake, Camden asked what was going on.

"Kurt's in the hospital."

"What? What happened? Is he alright?" Blaine leaned forward in his seat, craning his neck to look at Coraline with wide hazel eyes so similar to her own.

"I don't know, we'll just have to wait and see."

Camden sped up, passing a single silver car speeding in the opposite direction.

* * *

"It's a stab wound and a concussion. We're doing a blood transplant and then monitoring how it goes. He'd still in surgery right now so you'll have to wait, but we'll let you know when he's moved to the ICU unit."

Coraline sighed and nodded, thanking the doctor before moving back to sit with Camden and Blaine. She relayed the information to them shakily, her throat closing with clogged tears.

"A _stab wound_? He was fucking stabbed?" Camden hissed, his eyes on fire and his usually calm and jovial face becoming angrier and angrier by the second. Blaine just looked sick.

Coraline held her head in her hands, finally letting the tears fall down onto her cheeks as she let out sorrow for the strongest boy she knew.

* * *

**(A/N: 2) Please for the love of Klaine put down the torches and scalding coffee's! I know you want to hurt me for ending it here, hell, I would want to hurt me for ending it here. I just want the next chapter and this chapter to be separated and since I will be getting busy I wanted to make sure I got it out here quickly.**

**So Sebastian the motherfucking evil strikes again – surprise, surprise. Interesting turn of events, yeah?**

**To keep you interested I'll let you in on what next chapter has in store: *May contain spoilers for next chapter*.**

**Papa Burt love.**

**Brother Finn love.**

**Some Klaine (of course).**

**And SECRETS ARE ABOUT TO BE REVEALED.**

**I hope that's enough to keep you interested in me for just a little bit longer.**

**So who really really loves Coraline? I do, I just think she's evolved from this bubbly character to someone really solid and strong – she's going to be really important to Kurt and Blaine's relationship later!**

**Until next time then, my loved ones.**

**-Melanie M.-**


	15. Chapter 15

**(A/N: 1) I am a dirty rotten liar. I said that in the last chapter A/N Blaine would figure everything out but then I just got to typing and found a good stopping point and in order to get it out faster I stopped before getting to the "revealing" part.**

**But guess what comes in this chapter, dearies?**

**So instead of keeping you waiting any longer – READ ON.**

* * *

**Rating:** M

**Disclaimer:** Ryan Murphy & Co. denied my wish for partial custody of Glee. Damn it.

**Warnings:** Klangst, Dark Themes, Rape, Language, M/M in later chapters.

* * *

**My Only Sunshine**

**Chapter 15**

Coraline didn't think the first time that she met Kurt's family it would be like this. For one, Kurt's father was always a tall skinny man with nice hair – similar but not identical to Kurt – in her mind. Another, she had never been told that Finn was a giant or that Carole was so sweet. And she definitely didn't think that it would be when Kurt was unconscious in a hospital bed.

"Who are you?"

Coraline and Camden immediately shot to their feet for introductions, "I'm Camden Gallagher and this is my wife Coraline. We're friends of Kurt's. He had Corie on the list of emergency contacts and since you all live out of town, they called us to be here while you traveled."

Burt nodded; warily shaking Camden's outstretched hand.

"Kurt never –"

"Blaine!"

Finn had a . . . the only way to describe it was dopey. A dopey lop-sided grin on his tired face as he maneuvered his way over to where Blaine had tried to practically blend into the walls and go unnoticed. The tall man grabbed Blaine into a hug, rocking on his feet as Blaine awkwardly patted his back.

"It's so good to see you man. God, you haven't changed a bit!"

Blaine laughed uncomfortably, shoving his hands into his pockets and shuffling his feet once Finn had let go. "You too, Finn."

"Blaine, dear. What are you doing here?"

Blaine looked up at Carole's voice, "Corie's my sister. I've been staying with them for a little while and when she got the call we all came."

Burt grunted unhappily but didn't offer a comment, instead turning away from Blaine and looking at his son.

The amount of compassion on his face made Coraline's heart ache.

"Does anyone know what happened? Who did it?" He finally asked, his throat sounding tight even after clearing it a few times.

"No one knows except for Kurt and he hasn't woken up since he was put into recovery."

The room once again went silent, and everyone took seats around the room. Blaine and Finn remained standing, leaning against the back wall. Blaine was still refusing to look at the small, pale – practically lifeless looking – figure on the bed. Coraline couldn't blame him; it made her sick to see strong and independent Kurt so fragile and frail, hooked up to all the different machines.

They sat in silence, occasionally broken by a sniffle from one of the girls or a soft question asked. It was boring and mundane, but no one could comprehend anything more.

Around 3, Kurt's heart monitor sped up. It wasn't by much, but Burt still sat forward in his chair and gripped his son's hand harder.

When Kurt's eyes fluttered open, the room seemed to hold a collective breath.

"Dad?"

"Hey, buddy. You really gave us a scare there."

Kurt didn't respond, instead kept his eyes firmly on Burt. When his eyes started to fill with tears, Coraline could only watch in horror as her injured heart cracked just a bit more.

"Daddy." Kurt's voice was so _broken_; the single word came out in a choked sob.

Coraline realized with a start that it was the first time she'd ever witnessed him cry. And this wasn't a simple tear or two. This was a completely brokenboy desperate for some type of comfort.

"Shh, buddy. You're okay. I'm here. Everything will be okay."

* * *

Eventually everyone filed out of the room, leaving Carole and Burt alone with an inconsolable Kurt.

"You okay, Finn?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm . . . I'm fine. I've just never seen Kurt like that before. Not even when Burt was in the hospital." Finn dragged his hands over his red eyes and tired face.

A doctor brushed past their group and into the room.

"Are you and Rachel still together?" Blaine quietly asked, scuffing his toe on the ground.

"Yeah, she's going to come later today, she had to finish up at work."

Blaine nodded, still toeing at the floor.

Raised voices turned into shouting in the room they'd just left. Camden shot Coraline a worried look and gently pushed open the door, Finn pushing past them in his worry to make sure his brother was alright.

Burt stood red-faced between the doctor and a shivering Kurt, absolutely fuming.

" – I don't care what your stupid policy says."

"It's not a policy, but for previous rape victims it's necessary to –"

"For God's sake, can't you see you're upsetting him?" It was the first time Coraline had seen Carole raise her voice, and from the looks of it, it didn't occur often.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Blaine's steps falter and then he abruptly turned and fled from the room. Knowing she'd be no help here, Coraline quickly followed after.

"Blaine! Hey, Blaine! Come on, wait up!"

Blaine didn't listen, if anything just sped up. When he was slowed by a group of nurses, Coraline could finally catch him.

"God, Blaine. What got into you?"

When he turned around, his eyes were filled with tears. "Didn't you hear that doctor? He said . . . He said . . ." Blaine cut himself off, angrily shaking his head and clenching his eyes closed.

"I don't understand, Blaine. Honey, what's going on?"

"Kurt was _raped_, Corie. I don't even know how I didn't put it together before. He didn't _cheat . . . _Sebastian . . ." He began muttering to himself. "It happens a lot with victims. They consider themselves unloyal to partners. The way that he left – I should have known that something was wrong!"

That sick feeling began to stir in Coraline's stomach again. No. Kurt hadn't . . . That didn't _happen _to good people like Kurt. It just _didn't_.

"And I practically _told _Sebastian that I knew. I'm so _stupid, _Coraline." By now the tears began to make their tracks down Blaine's red cheeks despite his efforts to ebb them.

An angry heat began to build in Caroline as the information began to settle in her mind. The fact that someone could . . .

But they didn't know for certain. And they wouldn't know until Kurt told them for sure.

* * *

Blaine wanted to go back in the dark, cocoon of naivety – it was so much better there.

Because this wasn't supposed to happen. Not to anyone ever, but especially not to his _Kurt._

No. No, not his Kurt. He'd given that up when he hadn't send out search parties to find Kurt after he left Lima. If only Blaine hadn't been so unbelievably _dumb._

It wouldn't have changed what happened, but Blaine could have helped him heal. Could have been with him and held him when nightmares haunted him in the night, or when he didn't want the emotional stress of talking to anyone; deciding to watch Wicked in their apartment instead.

Kurt wouldn't be so _broken._

Because despite what Blaine wanted and wished for, Kurt was broken. He was desperately clinging to whatever few strings were currently holding him onto his pre-New Years, LA lifestyle. But when he began to falter more and more with schooling his expressions or would cry in front of them, Blaine knew that this was bad – really really bad.

"Kurt wants to talk to you alone, kid."

Blaine rolled his head on the wall to see Burt hovering over him. When the words finally processed, Blaine sat up straight. "He does?"

"Yeah. Just be careful."

"Yes, sir." Burt still hadn't really taken another liking to Blaine as much as Carole or Finn had.

The room was empty when Blaine finally gathered the courage to walk in. He'd wasted half an hour standing outside the door, Rachel and Finn sending him pitying looks from their place down the hall that he hated.

Kurt was curled onto his side, facing the blank wall, so Blaine cleared his throat to gain his attention – not wanting to startle the already jumpy man.

Kurt didn't make any acknowledgment that he'd heard him.

"Uh . . . Kurt? I – Your dad said that you wanted to talk to me." Cautiously Blaine approached the bedside, standing at the end of the bed and waiting for Kurt to answer him. When he didn't, and Blaine saw the even rising and falling of his chest, he leaned over to see Kurt's face peaceful for the first time Blaine had seen it in the couple days spent at the hospital.

Blaine knew from Finn that the nightmares had begun their approach last night, continually waking Kurt and the rest of the family up in order to stop them.

Taking the chair from the corner, Blaine settled down to wait. He'd taken too long to come, maybe he'd just stop by tomorrow – he hadn't planned to but his schedule was definitely flexible.

He didn't know when he nodded off, but he awoke to the sound of loud sniffling and choking sobs. Still delirious and bleary-eyed, he looked around confused; his eyes settling on the hunched figure on the bed in front of him.

"Kurt?" He whispered, sitting up so that he could reach out and settle a comforting hand onto Kurt's trembling arm.

Kurt shook his head, eyes closed tightly and his lips pressed together so hard they turned white. Despite his efforts, tears still leaked from the corners of his eyes and his chest heaved with his suppressed cries.

Working on half auto-pilot, only worrying about Kurt being alright, he climbed gingerly onto the bed beside him, carefully pulling Kurt into his arms to avoid his injuries.

"Shh. You're alright, I promise. I won't let anything happen to you. Never again." Blaine pressed his face into Kurt's flattened hair, forcing his own tears back. "I _promise_."

They fell asleep wrapped around each other, Kurt's head resting over Blaine's heart and Blaine's cheek resting on his forehead as he thanked whatever higher being there was for bringing this man, this angel into his life again.

* * *

Kurt had always been an early riser. So when Blaine awoke in the morning to see Kurt still pressed firmly to his chest and out cold, Blaine was content to just lie there with the safe feel of Kurt in his arms.

Before Blaine got a chance to fully appreciate what little bit of Kurt's face he could see from this angle, Kurt sniffled and burrowed his head further into Blaine's chest, his eyebrows furrowing together a moment later. His pale hand began to loosen its grip on Blaine's shirt, shakily feeling his chest as Kurt's dark lashes fluttered.

His body went rigidly stiff when he realized where he was, staring at at Blain's shirt with wide eyes.

"Kurt?"

Kurt's response was to look up at him with those wide glasz eyes, not speaking for a few moments. When he did, it was soft. "You're here."

Blaine nodded slowly, "You asked for me."

"I didn't think you'd come."

"Why wouldn't I?" Did Kurt really think he was that heartless?

Kurt looked away, his brow furrowing once again as he chose his words. "So you don't know?"

The defeated look in Kurt's eyes made Blaine's own water. "Yeah, I know."

"Did Sebastian . . . If he . . . You need to tell someone soon, Blaine. They have support groups that you can go to and getting checked out is the smartest thing to do. Just don't be ashamed about it and tell someone what happened."

"Wait; what?"

"That's why he came after me. I knew that he would if I told but it just came out and before I could even _do _anything to try and stop him I was landed in here." His words were coming almost too fast for Blaine to decipher.

But then it clicked. "Kurt, did he . . . Did he threaten to do the same thing to me if you ever told anyone?"

It didn't take long for Kurt to get it too because despite pain killers and a sleepy haze, he was still one of the smartest people Blaine knew. "He didn't get to you."

Blaine only shook his head.

"That's why you left and didn't tell anyone. You threw away your happiness just to save your family. To save me."

"I had to." Kurt's eyes brightened with tears.

"I love you."

It wasn't romantic. It wasn't a newly found revelation that Blaine had been planning for weeks how to say it in the most perfect way. It wasn't like the first time. Because it wasn't the first time – it was a simple admission; a declaration that they both had stated numerous times over. But it was true and strong and nothing had changed since that first time Blaine had said the words while everything in their lives had changed.

"I know."

Blaine did know; and it was enough.

**(A/N: 2) Oh gosh. The feels. Let me know what you all thought pretty pretty please! I spent a lot of time planning this out and worrying how to put it all down but when I started actually writing it just . . . Came out of me in floods of words. I guess angst just can do that to a person.**

**I hope everyone is having a lovely week – THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY!**

**And how is everyone enjoying the new season so far? I'm not sure how ANY of the Klaine fandom is going to deal with The Break Up episode. Acoustic Teenage Dream? Fuck no. Just no. My heart can't take it.**

**Now that my rambling's done – Have a lovely day wonderful readers. Drop me a review to make mine!**

**Kisses,**

**-Melanie M.-**


	16. Chapter 16

**(A/N: 1) Sorry for the wait my lovelies! Get ready for more feels. Slowly but surely this story is going to be wrapping up, but we've still got a little longer to go until then. This chapter is another shorty - so sorry lovies. Thanks for reading!**

***PLAESE (PRETTY PLEASE) EXCUSE ALL TYPOS – I'm SUFFICIENTLY EXHAUSTED***

* * *

**Rating: **M

**Disclaimer: **Ryan Murphy & Co. denied my wish for partial custody of Glee. Cue ugly sobbing.

**Warnings: **Klangst, Dark Themes, Rape, Language, M/M in later chapters.

* * *

**My Only Sunshine**

**Chapter 16**

Burt Hummel always knew what to do when he was a teenager. He knew how to fix a car up in 20 minutes flat, how to pass by in his classes in order to graduate, and even how to ask his high school sweetheart how to marry him. Because they'd all been common sense; had been so _simple._

Burt didn't know how to handle Elizabeth's death. He didn't know how to handle his son being gay. Or his son disappearing out of his life for years.

However, he'd managed. Because there was always an answer. Survive. Love him because he's your son. He'll always come back.

But _this_? Having to learn from hospital records that his son had been . . . That Kurt had . . . It wasn't right. His son – his baby boy –had been _forced _against his will, and then nearly died.

Burt Hummel didn't know what to do.

He knew that he had to somehow be there for Kurt, knew that he should probably call someone who knew how to get in contact with Kurt's publicist lady to keep this off the papers, and knew that somehow Kurt was going to be okay.

As he watched Blaine – the boy who he had loved as his own son and then unconsciously harbored a grudge toward since Kurt left – and his son sleep peacefully on that cramped hospital bed that couldn't be comfortable at all as the clock ticked closer and closer to noon, he knew that they would somehow figure it out together. Burt would be there for them any step of the way just like any concerned parent watching their child walk to the bus stop on the first day of school, but knew that this wasn't – no matter how much he wanted to – something he could fix easy.

So he'd be there and hope, _pray_,that Blaine could save his baby boy. That they'd be able to save each other.

...

* * *

When Kurt woke for the second time that morning he was almost uncomfortably hot, his eyes were scratchy and dry behind his lids, his throat felt like he'd swallowed glass, he really needed to pee, and there was something annoyingly blowing into his hair.

He blindly reached out and batted at whatever it was, his hand coming into contact with stubbly skin and smooth lips.

Slowly opening his eyes he realized that what he was resting his head on was _not _in fact a firm pillow, but a chest with arms attached that were wrapped around him. It was so familiar and yet so different – the tone in Blaine's muscles and the length he'd acquired over the years foreign. Kurt's throat tightened and his eyes stung.

This is how it was supposed to be.

Then again, it wasn't of course. Because they weren't _supposed_ to be lying on an uncomfortable hospital bed and Kurt shouldn't have his stomach wrapped.

But Blaine was there. Blaine Anderson – his high school love – the boy he'd given so much for, been hurt by, and had hurt so badly in return. It wasn't going to be easy because it never had been for them, but they would somehow work it out. There was still so much to talk about – stuff that Kurt didn't want to even _think_ – but they'd get there and be stronger for it.

Kurt closed his eyes and curled closer into Blaine's side. Blaine's arms tightened unconsciously and Kurt couldn't help but smile.

With a tilt of his head Kurt could just barely see Blaine's face – his impossibly long lashes, strong jaw, pouty lips – his warm breath still delicately tickling his hair.

"Morning."

"Good morning." Kurt whispered back in response, their eyes locking. In all honesty, Kurt didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to say, how to move, and definitely didn't know how to act around the boy he'd been so desperately in love with for so long.

When you're away from something for a long amount of time, that feeling that you have for that something begins to fade. It's not like it ever completely goes away (that'd be idiotic to state) but it does in fact fail to have that mind-numbing, jolting shock that came with it before.

He knew he loved Blaine (and after the late night admission from last night he knew that Blaine loved him as well) but before it had consumed him – now it was just there like a well-stated fact. It scared him more than anything.

"Santana called." Kurt groaned, scrunching his eyes together and wanting to escape back into the oblivious world of sleep where it was peaceful and there were no insane friends that were surely freaking out about the fact you had been MIA for a lengthy amount of days.

Blaine chuckled, his hand absentmindedly stoking Kurt's back. "I just let it ring and figured that you could deal with it later. Serena is supposed to drop by today in order to go over some Public Relations things and tabloid stories."

Kurt kept his gaze on the threads of Blaine's sweater. "Do you know how they found me?"

Blaine's arms tightened around him again, this time in a conscious effort. "No."

"Apparently a paparazzi was following me and she saw it all happen. When . . . _He _left her and her partner came over and saw me. I was awake when they debated forever on whether they should call an ambulance or keep rolling film."

He'd thought he was going to die.

"Serena will get a lawsuit on them as soon as you tell her."

Kurt shook his head, sighing. "What's the point? If I want to keep this as silent as possible then I can't do anything about it. If it weren't for them no one would have found me and I would've –"

"Don't. Don't you dare say it." Blaine's voice was firm and when Kurt glanced up he could see the clench of his jaw; the tears in his eyes.

"I won't."

...

* * *

As expected Serena stopped by later in the evening, Blaine leaving with a quick farewell kiss pressed to Kurt's forehead. He thankfully escaped questioning but from the look on Serena's face, Kurt wouldn't be as lucky.

When he got back and was allowed into the room, Burt and Carole were there – Kurt sound asleep in the bed.

Before Blaine could sneak out unnoticed, Burt gruffly called him over. "Come here, kid. We need to have a talk."

"There's nothing wrong, sweetheart. Don't look so worried." Carole chided gently; a small easy, smile on her face.

Apprehension no doubt clearly on his face, Blaine slowly sat down in the chair on the other side of Kurt.

It was silent for a moment before Burt began. "They caught the guy at your house."

Blaine didn't ask for clarification, he already knew who.

"Will Kurt have to testify?"

"There's a good chance that he might. But there are pictures from the night he was . . . Cornered. In the alley. Even if they did a shitty job at helping those damn paparazzi still got the pictures that could help with putting that bastard away."

Blaine nodded, watching Kurt's eyelashes cast fanned shadows across his pale cheeks.

"Blaine dear," Carole said softly after a lull in conversation, "there's a chance that you're going to have to testify as well."

Shocked, he looked up. "Why would I have to?"

"Because you're just as involved in it as we are – probably more. Now we're not saying that it's a done deal, but if there's anything to help this case we are going to use it."

"Of course. I understand."

When no one made to speak again, Blaine went back to watching Kurt's delicately peaceful expression.

"Thank you for being here, kid."

Blaine grasped Kurt's hand just a fraction tighter. "I wouldn't be anywhere else."

…

* * *

"_Now we go to Dana for the news report."_

"_Thanks, Mike. I'm here at Saint Joseph hospital where currently Kurt Hummel is receiving treatment. The young actor was stabbed five days ago in a mugging gone wrong. There has been no released statements from Hummel himself but it is said that he is awake."_

…

* * *

"_Today on Hollywood Reporter we will be taking a look at the stabbing of Kurt Hummel. Was it a mugging gone wrong or a hate crime? What the actor was doing out at midnight and just where the stabber is now. All coming in just a few moments."_

…

* * *

"_It's been a week since we received news of actor Kurt Hummel (Fashion's Night Out) being put in the hospital after being stabbed while walking home to his apartment late on Thursday night. Photographers have seen various pictures of his publicist, and close friend Coraline Gallagher going to and from St. Joe hospital over this time._

"_Also seen (photo below) was the rest of Hummel's family. If you remember from previous articles Kurt Hummel has been hiding – whether intentionally or not – his family from the public eye. His father, step-brother, and step-mother have all been seen going to the hospital._

"_We're all just glad that Kurt finally has his family so that he doesn't always look so alone!"_

…

* * *

"_Hummel not to testify – assaulter walking free."_

* * *

**(A/N: 2) Again I just want to thank you all for reading. It's all a big insane right now and internet connection is extremely shitty (THANKS SANDY) plus school is kicking my ass because those good grades don't come from thin air.**

**Like I mentioned previously, this story will in fact start to wrap up here in the next few chapters. It's going to be the first multi-chapter fic that I actually finish! Yippee to Melanie!**

**These last chapter may (probably) take more time to get out simply because of writers block and the fact that I have to keep going back to make sure all loose ends are tied up nicely. So bear with me!**

**I love you all desperately.**

**-Melanie M.-**


	17. Chapter 17

**(A/N: 1) Oh your reviews, guys! They warm my heart. I know it's been forever, and I'm not going to burden you with my woes but my classes and finals have just been kicking my ass. It's finally here though and I think it might be the last until Christmas so – MERRY CHRISTMAS, LOVES.**

* * *

**Rating**: M

**Disclaimer**: Ryan Murphy & Co. denied my wish for partial custody of Glee. Cue ugly sobbing.

**Warnings**: Klangst, Dark Themes, Rape, Language, M/M in later chapters.

* * *

**My Only Sunshine**

**Chapter 17**

"Mr. Hummel, please realize –"

"I don't have to realize anythingthat I don't want to! This is my _son._"

"And he's one of my best friends, sir. But you need to calm –"

"Don't you dare tell me to calm down!"

"If you want what is best for your son you'll sit down and _shut up_!" Burt sat down, a glare in his eyes. Finn felt sorry for the dude it was directed at, knowing that _he _wouldn't ever want to make Burt that mad.

"Thank you. Mr. Hummel, there's a few things that you have to take into account before you start accusing me of losing Kurt's case. For one, he's famous. Whether you haven't been in his life recently or not, you know this. Subsequently his fame draws unneeded and unwanted attention – this story is being covered by Hollywood Insider to CNN. The more attention it warrants, the quicker the judge wants to get it over with. It's quicker to set a man free than to go over every single piece of evidence brought up by the plaintiff.

"Then there's the fact that Kurt doesn't want to testify. We should have won the incident from just last week, hands down – it was a bad decision on the judge. But with what happened a few years back . . . Without a witness, and especially Kurt testifying, there's no way to convict Mr. Smythe for it. It's called an alleged incident for a reason, sir. I understand that it did happen, and even if we have medical evidence to prove that Kurt was raped – we cannot prove that it was by Smythe."

Burt leaned forward in his chair, his head in his hands. "It's not fair."

The lawyer dude shook his head with a frown on his face while his wife – Blaine's sister – sniffled like she was crying.

"Well how are we going to get him to testify?"

Lawyer dude looked at Finn now, "Excuse me?"

Finn shrugged, "How are we going to convince Kurt to testify?"

Burt let out a laugh, though it still sounded kinda funny. "If you want to try and convince him to do something, go ahead, Finn. But I'm definitely not going to piss off Kurt _and_ your mom."

Rachel gave him a reproving look that he grinned sheepishly at. "You're probably right." Finn admitted, remembering a time when he'd lived with Kurt – the horrors that had occurred when he'd tried to boss him around.

When they started talking about the confusing lawyer stuff again, Finn didn't even try to listen this time. Instead he turned his head so that he could see inside the small room that his brother was in. Blaine was there too – of course – and was trying to quietly go over some papers while Kurt slept beside him. He looked up, as if feeling a stare trained on him, and made eye contact with Finn almost immediately. Knowing that it would only make it more awkward if he tried to play it off, he waved in response – earning a confused half-wave back from Blaine.

Finn would be the first to admit that having Blaine back was a little weird. Yeah, Blaine and him had eventually gotten over the problems they'd had and then became really good friends, and had bonded even more when Rachel and Kurt had left for New York, but it was just . . . _weird_. When Kurt disappeared Burt got pretty mad at Blaine and then Blaine was just kind of . . . gone from their lives.

Finn had to admit though – Blaine had been missed.

* * *

They all eventually fell into routine. Kurt would wake up to a nice nurse gently checking his vitals, at 9:00 Blaine would show up with two coffees in hand, setting beside the bed and making simple, idle chat while Kurt's family and his own would move in and out of the room throughout the day. Rachel had arrived with teary eyes and a command for a better room, and now only occasionally showed up once Burt, as gently as he could, told her that stressing Kurt out would only hinder his healing.

Blaine would leave once Kurt went to his physical rehab session. Once that was over there was a nap and then he would awake to Blaine reading, studying various notes or humming various songs to himself with glasses slowly sliding down his nose. Finally, without fail, Blaine would remain there until Kurt fell asleep. He would leave and then the cycle would continue.

It scared Kurt how soon Blaine was entwining himself with his life once again. There was so much they still needed to resolve, so many thing that went unspoken; but it was always so much simpler to talk about Gaga's new album or Katy Perry's new movie. It was an agreement that went unsaid – they wouldn't talk about anything serious until they had time to sit and be alone with each other.

It was different now than what it was. There was no burning need to know what had happened now that Blaine essentially _knew. _It was Kurt that was still in the dark about some of it – although it again wasn't a desperate clawing ache to know. They had each other with them once again and for now that was enough.

Santana showed up early in the morning a week before Kurt was going to be released. Before he could comprehend what was happening, she was talking a mile a minute – still shaking his shoulder violently.

"Mrrph."

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty."

"'m sleep."

"Not anymore. Now get up."

"Santana?" She smirked down at him, reaching behind herself with a foot to blindly pull the chair toward her. Grasping his hand in hers she collapsed back and let out a grunt. "What're you doing here?"

"Frankenteen was the only one to answer my calls after I got the morning magazine. Kurt Hummel – tragically stabbed and left for dead." She held her hands out above her head like news lines.

Kurt blinked a few times – still trying to wake up fully. "So you flew here?"

"Of course I did. You're my favorite gay."

Kurt rolled his eyes, nuzzling the side of his face back into the scratchy pillow. "Now I know that's not true."

"Fine; you're my favorite _male _gay."

He hummed in response, ready to just go back to sleep and deal with her later.

"Not a chance. You're going to stay awake and tell Auntie Tana what happened."

"First off, you're not my aunt – that doesn't even make sense. Second, I'm sure you read all about it in the papers." He didn't open his eyes.

"Was it Smythe?"

He cracked one eye open, taking in the look on her face – all traces of teasing were gone. "Yes."

She sighed, squeezing his hand tighter and entwining their fingers together. "I don't know what's going on here – but when you're ready to tell me why you don't want to testify against the weasel you can tell me."

They sat in silence, Santana's hand wrapped firmly in his and resting underneath her chin as he drifted off to sleep.

The next time he awoke, it was to two voices whispering harshly back and forth and a tight, vice-like grip on his fingers.

"Tana."

"Great job, Bilbo. You woke him up."

"Bite me, Satan."

Kurt's eyes flew open at the loud "_ow_!" that came from Blaine.

"Will you two please just shut the fuck up?" He growled out, glaring at the two.

"What is he even doing here?" Santana said, exasperated.

"It is a free country." Blaine muttered, shooting her another dirty look.

Santana sent him a withering look in return.

The nurse, thankfully, came in at that moment smiling at the group. "Good morning, darling."

Kurt smiled in response, sitting up gingerly, "morning."

The other two in the room remained silent, settling for looks thrown back and forth while the nurse tended to Kurt. Once he'd eaten a bit and his bandages were looked at she was gone.

"Are you two over yourselves yet?"

"Funny. Now why is he here?"

"The fact that you think I'd ignore this is sickening, Santana." Blaine gingerly sat on the bed, pressing a kiss to Kurt's forehead.

"Oh hell no." Santana's lips were drawn, hands on her slim hips. "There's no way that I'm going to let this happen."

"I love you, I really do, but this isn't something that you're allowed to boss us around on." Kurt sighed, giving her an imploring look.

She stood there, watching them for a long time before she let out a long sigh – almost visibly deflating. "If this ends badly, I get to say I told you so."

"It won't." Blaine's voice was firm, his eyes scorching. "We won't let it."

* * *

On December 3rd, Kurt was finally released with a quick "take it easy on yourself" from the doctor. His family had left the day before after being assured multiple times that he would, in fact, be fine. He had the Gallagher's, and obviously Blaine to help him through it. Serena was there with a driver and dark Sedan for Blaine and him when they left, Blaine shielding Kurt from the multitude of photographers while trying to keep his sunglasses secure to shield his own face.

The pictures were, unshockingly, found in the magazines the next morning with the title _Actor Kurt Hummel Out of Hospital._ It won't be until a week after that the connection is made between the boy in a uniform dancing with a young Kurt Hummel that had been released to the press months ago. But for now, and only for now, they were simply content and safe inside the warm car – Blaine's weight pressed against Kurt's side and Kurt's hand pressing soft patterns into his hand.

* * *

"As long as you promise me no leaving this apartment, then I'll leave. You sure you're fine with him, Curls?"

Blaine smiled, folding a blanket in front of him. "We'll be fine."

"Speak for yourself – do you realize how much work I'm going to have to do to clean this place? You couldn't have had anyone come by and at least _dust_?"

"_You're _not going to do anything but sit and watch RENT." Blaine shooed Kurt away toward the living room, earning an eye roll in return.

"Just don't get too crazy now, kids." Serena swiftly pressed a kiss to Kurt's cheek and then was gone almost as quickly as she'd breezed through.

"She's definitely . . . unique."

Kurt hummed, flopping down onto the couch. "Bat shit crazy is more like it. She's sweet though, I wouldn't be where I am without her."

Blaine smiled fondly, a twinkle in his eye that Kurt had managed to forget over the years – a twinkle that now caused Kurt's heart to quicken its speed past what was probably healthy.

"I'm really proud of you, you know."

"Oh, really?"

Blaine laughed a high happy sound that caused Kurt to smile in response. "Of course I am. Despite what everyone ever though in Ohio, you did it. Ya you're famous but you've made this life for yourself that's just so inspiring for everyone. You inspire _me._"

Kurt was breathless, color flooding high on his cheeks as those beautiful gold-green eyes stared into his own. He wondered what would happen if he stood up and just kissed him. Would Blaine stop him? Would he stop himself? Before he could test it, Blaine cleared his throat and glanced down – his hand found that spot on the back of his neck that he always rubbed when he was nervous or embarrassed.

"How about something to eat?"

Kurt let out a calming breath through his nose, trying to steady himself. "Sounds good."

* * *

**(A/N: 2) FINALLY WE ARE GETTING SOMEWHERE WITH KLAINE. I know it was a long time coming, but we're finally getting there and isn't it just so worth it? This took way too long to get out, and I apologize for that, but I really tried my hardest. I didn't want to rush anything out especially with it being the end. Let me know what you all think! **

**ALSO: I just recently caved in and got a tumblr, so go follow GreenEyedMelanie on there!**

**Hugs and Klaine Kisses!**

**-Melanie M.-**


	18. Chapter 18

**(A/N: 1) Hello my lovelies! I'm going to leave the big author's note for the bottom (it's kind of important) and just let you get to reading because I know it's been forever since I've updated. So, READ ON!**

**By the way, I was my own beta for this chapter so if there's any mistakes – so sorry! We'll just play it off to me wanting it to go out sooner. ;D**

**Rating:** M

**Disclaimer:** Ryan Murphy & Co. denied my wish for partial custody of Glee. Cue ugly sobbing.

**Warnings:** Klangst, Dark Themes, Non-Con, Language, M/M in later chapters.

* * *

**My Only Sunshine**

**Chapter 18**

It wasn't until Kurt was in bed, nearly asleep, that he realized they hadn't talked.

Of course they _talked._ About anything and everything that came to mind. But they didn't talk about anything of importance. There was a difference in life-altering to mind-numbing when it came to discussions. Housewives of something weren't as important as having Blaine back.

Kurt laid there for a few moments longer, a nervousness settling in his stomach keeping him from even contemplating sleep. Blaine had said that he loved him (repeatedly), and although Kurt hadn't said it back didn't mean he didn't feel the same.

On one hand, he had the opportunity of having _Blaine _back and everything that came with that. Love, happiness, _warmth. _He could be himself again. The self he missed – the one that didn't feel like half of him was missing.

On the other hand, there was the opening up of being hurt again, and this time probably even more than he had been last time. They weren't in high school anymore. They were officially grownups. Not to mention Kurt's life in the spotlight, all of the tabloids that would love to exploit him in any way – good or bad.

Did Blaine even want him like that anymore? He may love Kurt, but that didn't necessarily mean that he wanted to pursue a relationship with him again. Or even so soon.

Kurt groaned and rolled over to a more comfortable position, wrapping his hands around his middle to try and calm down the butterflies in his stomach that were having a boxing match in order to get out.

There would be no getting any sleep tonight.

* * *

In the morning, Kurt shuffled out of his bedroom softly, wrapped up in an old sweatshirt with pajama bottoms. Unsurprisingly, Blaine was already up with a cup of coffee in one hand and a magazine in the other as he leaned forward on the counter.

"How could I have forgotten that you're such a morning person?" Kurt grumbled, taking a seat across from him.

"Sometimes we block out unpleasant memories." Blaine teased, flipping the page and taking a drink from his mug. "How'd you sleep? Being back in a real bed and all."

"I could ask you the same thing."

Blaine looked up, rolling his eyes. "I slept fine, now seriously. How are you feeling?"

"I slept fine." Kurt shot back. He hadn't, not really, and with one look at the dark circles under Kurt's eyes, Blaine could no doubt tell. He didn't comment on it though, and Kurt couldn't help but fall in love with the man just a little more because of how much he still understood Kurt.

"Coffee?" Blaine turned around to pull down a cup from the cupboard.

"Yes, please." Kurt sighed, turning the magazine toward him.

"You might not want to do that." Blaine sat the mug in front of Kurt, the steam already warming him just a little more.

"Why's that?"

Blaine sighed, pulling it closer so that he could flip back to the cover.

There, in bold, bright letters were the words: 'HIDDEN RELATIONSHIP THIS ENTIRE TIME?'

Kurt groaned, lowering his head in his hands. A picture was underneath the words, a shot of Blaine helping Kurt into the car, concern clearly ingrained in his face.

"Someone must have tipped them off. There's no way that they would've just made that connection."

Blaine was silent for a little while, gnawing on his lip. "You . . . you do know that I wasn't the one to send in the pictures right? When the magazine did that big weekly article on you because I would _never _do that to anyone, especially you."

Kurt nodded, "I know. I didn't . . . I didn't really think it was you. It just made more sense than someone else sending the pictures in. Who else is there?"

"Anyone who had access to the photos really," Blaine shrugged.

"That narrows it down." Kurt said dryly.

Blaine held up his hands in defense, "Just helping."

"I know," Kurt sighed. He picked up his coffee, taking a tentative sip, hoping to wake up more fully.

"We never . . . We never talked yesterday. Like we planned to." Kurt almost spat the liquid back out onto Blaine's face in shock. Blaine's eyes widened, "But we don't have to talk about it! Ever! Only if you want to. Eventually. Maybe."

Kurt swallowed, with some difficulty. "Isn't it a little early for a serious conversation?"

"I mean . . . No, you're right. It is early. I've been up too long."

Kurt waited a few beats, looking at Blaine's slightly embarrassed face. "Come on." He led a slightly worried Blaine to the living room, pulling him down onto the couch with him to sit.

"So . . ." Blaine trailed off.

"Let's talk."

"Right. Well."

"I . . ." Kurt cleared his throat. "I honestly don't even know where to begin."

Blaine gave a lopsided grin, "Well neither do I – at least we're on the same boat."

"A boat that's quickly sinking."

"Are you seeing someone?" Blaine blurted, his cheeks coloring once the words were rushed out. "It's just . . . Something that I've wondered about since the Glee Reunion."

"Santana was very much just kidding. Or making a point known. No, I'm not . . . Dating. Anyone. At all."

"Oh."

"You on the other hand?"

"Same. I mean, Sebastian and I were . . . I was trying to . . ." Blaine cut himself off, clenching his hand in his lap.

"Santana said that you two dated for a little while." Kurt offered, trying to help. The words tasted like acid on his tongue.

Blaine shrugged, "I'm not sure that's the way to put it. I wasn't really . . . Committed to it. In the beginning I was still upset about what he did at the party – what I _knew _of that happened at the party." He clenched his jaw and Kurt wanted to smooth out the furrow of his brow. He didn't though, worried that he'd be crossing some sort of line.

Kurt kept his eyes on his own hands.

"Why did you leave?"

Kurt didn't look up in order to answer, instead giving his attention to the wrecked cuticles and nail-beds on his fingers. Finally, when he felt that he'd collected enough of his thoughts, he looked up and took a deep breath.

"Because when I went back home that night I just thought, how am I supposed to tell anyone what happened? How am I supposed to tell _Blaine_? I ran so that I wouldn't have to."

They were silent until Kurt spoke again, this time soft and timid. His gaze focused back on his hands and a crease formed between his furrowed brows.

"Why did _you_?"

"Why did I what?" Blaine's voice was soft.

"Leave."

Blaine stared in confusion, and when he didn't answer, Kurt took a shaky breath.

"The night of the party. I was looking for you and Sebastian told me that he'd seen you pass by just a little bit ago. He got me into that room and . . ." Kurt clenched his eyes shut. Blaine touched his hand gently with his own. "I was trying to scream for someone – for _you_ and then . . . there you were. But you were so drunk that you didn't even – You didn't recognize that it was me and you didn't understand that what was happening was something _wrong_. You just slurred something like 'carry on' and then left. You left me there." A tear leaked from the corner of Kurt's eye. "I just don't understand how you didn't realize because even when completely smashed I at least _recognize_ people. Especially you."

Blaine didn't respond for a little while, trying to collect his thoughts and push down the sick feeling in his stomach. "I'm not going to try and defend myself. Because it makes me nauseous to even think that I _saw_ you in that situation and didn't help. I can't ask for your forgiveness if I can't even forgive myself. But you should know that I don't remember anything about that night. I didn't get drunk. I didn't even have a sip of alcohol."

Kurt glanced up, confused and a bit wary. "Then how . . ."

"I didn't think it was weird at first. But Sebastian and other guys kept bringing me cokes and waters. I talked to the other people that were there afterwards, and they said that it was some type of drug."

Something caught in Kurt's throat, making it difficult to swallow. Making it difficult to _breathe_. "They drugged you."

Blaine slowly nodded, "It's possible, yes."

They remained in their shocked stupor for a little longer. In an instant, it was like whatever resentment Kurt had held for Blaine in whatever amount was gone. He _understood._ While it wasn't a good reason, or really a very tactile excuse, it was there in the open, made sense, and he could believe it easier.

It made his heart a little lighter, and the pressure on his shoulders decrease just slightly. Just enough.

"You've been in LA for a while."

Blaine smiled sheepishly, pulling at a string on his pants until it gave. "I suppose." His smile slowly faded. "I thought about moving here for a while. But with classes . . . And my students . . ."

"Tell me about them."

Blaine looked up, a shine in his eye at the fact that Kurt _wanted _to know. They spent the next half hour talking about the different students that Blaine was teaching – the kids he taught piano and the high-schoolers that needed help with Music Theory.

"You really enjoy it."

Blaine grinned, almost bashful, "Yeah, I do." The serene smile that had been playing on his lips faded, although his eyes were still the happiest Kurt had seen them in so long. "Coraline really misses you, yeah know."

During the time in the hospital, Coraline had only been by to visit a few times. It wasn't that she didn't want to, or at least that's the impression Kurt was under, but there was a strict two person only rule in place at the hospital and one of his parents and Blaine were always there, allowing Coraline barely any time to see Kurt.

It hadn't allowed the two friends to talk, to catch up and simply become as close as they were once again. It made Kurt's stomach hurt to think that Coraline might still be upset with him, and maybe he was still pushing it off a little bit, but his forlorn emotions toward her overpowered the fright of rejection by far.

"I know." Was all Kurt responded with, fiddling with the corner of couch pillow.

Eventually the sun set, after hours spent on the couch watching movies and trashy, indulgent reality TV. When Kurt's eyes started to droop and his head became practically impossible to hold upright, he said a quiet goodnight and took off for bed.

After his shower and night time regimen he slipped underneath his sheets and cocooned himself in the warmth of the comforter, allowing thoughts of a certain curly-haired man with the most beautiful smile lull him to sleep.

* * *

Blaine awoke to screams. He'd gone to bed after Kurt, staying up for an hour after the other man before finally deciding to call it a night himself.

He'd always been a light sleeper – the smallest of noises could awake him in a jolt and he'd be ready to go. So when the first shout came from down the hallway – in _Kurt's _room – he was jumping out of bed in a flash and sprinting down the hall.

The sight in Kurt's room made Blaine's heart pang in sorrow.

Kurt wasn't a very large man. Tall perhaps, but his years of stress and healthy eating wound around his last trip to the hospital had left him physically _tiny _in girth. Blaine hadn't realized just how small he'd gotten. But now, seeing Kurt crawled up into a ball in a bed that looked massive and being practically swallowed by covers, he saw the gauntness in his cheeks, the nodules of his spine, the protruding collarbones.

He was crying, if his sniffles and whimpers were any indication, but Blaine wasn't sure if he was awake or asleep. When Kurt let out a choked sob, Blaine realized that he didn't care – he'd risk embarrassment and rejection if it meant providing Kurt some sort of comfort.

He crawled behind the man, wrapping his arms around his figure and shushing him softly. Gently, he wrapped one arm around Kurt, placing the other on his chest so that his arms encircled him completely. Within seconds, Kurt had a grasp on the hand over his heart – holding on for dear life as the tears and sobs still ran rampant through his body.

Not able to stop himself, Blaine pressed a kiss to the back of Kurt's neck, extending his neck to rest his head in his soft hair.

Eventually Kurt began to settle, although his limbs still shook ever so slightly and the grip on Blaine's hand was still deathly tight.

Blaine clenched his eyes shut, wishing more than anything, more than the entire world, to take the pain away from him. To just be able to take all the bad thoughts, all the memories, and throw them away forever. He wished that Kurt would never have to go through what he did, let alone relive it every time he closed his eyes for sleep.

Instead, he did the only thing he knew to help aside from holding Kurt close and letting him know that he was loved. He sang.

"_You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away."_

* * *

**(A/N: 2) Well we finally have the song come into play. We'll see it again later, for a little continuity.**

**God, just let me say again how grateful I am to still have readers. You guys rock – seriously – and I would be heartbroken without you.**

**Now let's get to the important stuff!**

**In bittersweet news: This story is indeed wrapping up. There is only going to be one more chapter and an epilogue to tie up loose ends. If there's anything that you want to see, send me a PM and I'll see if I can squeeze it into the last parts or maybe (possibly if you're lucky) write a one-shot for it.**

**Just, thank you all for sticking with me for so long! I love you!**

**Melanie M.**


	19. Chapter 19

**(A/N: 1) **Hey guys! Like I said last time, this story is indeed close to finishing, with just this chapter and an epilogue left. Thank you so much for sticking with me and I hope you enjoy how I wrap things up!

**Rating:** M

**Disclaimer:** Ryan Murphy & Co. denied my wish for partial custody of Glee. Cue ugly sobbing.

**Warnings:** Klangst, Dark Themes, Non-Con, Language, M/M in later chapters. AHOY! SMUT AHEAD.

* * *

**My Only Sunshine**

**Chapter 19**

When Kurt wakes, he's sweaty and incredibly hot. He's managed to kick off the comforter halfway, and the sheets are well on their way, but he can't quite figure out _why_ he'd be so warm.

And then Blaine makes a light snuffling sound – just like he always used to –, his warm nose pressing into the back of Kurt's neck more firmly as Kurt fails in his attempts to wriggle free.

Eventually Kurt gives up, succumbing to his fate and instead scoots himself back further into Blaine's nearly overpowering warmth.

Blaine makes more noises; endearing little sounds that make Kurt's lips slowly curl into a smile.

"Mmm. Kurt?"

"Hm?" Kurt mumbles, squeezing Blaine's forearm gently.

Blaine grumbles out something that sounds like "morning" and tightens his hold on Kurt. Their legs tangle further, Kurt's cold toes pressing between Blaine's calves.

They stay like that for a while longer before Blaine's startles, leaning up on his arm so that he can see Kurt's face. "How are you feeling?" He loosens his hand from Kurt's hold to brush a lock of hair from his face.

Kurt darts his eyes back and forth between the hazel orbs hovering above him. "I'm – I'm fine." There's an emotion in Blaine's eyes that he can't place and it frightens him. Not in a bad way, necessarily. Just something different that's never been there before.

He remembers the faint lyrics of an old song, the tune humming in his still slight sleep-hazy brain. "Thank you for checking on me; for calming me down."

Blaine's worried frown slowly turns back into an easy smile. "Anytime, Kurt. You know that."

And Kurt _does_ know that. Just like he knows that eventually Blaine will have to go back to his own home, that this isn't going to last, and that Blaine could have anyone falling for him. He's not totally delusional to think that Blaine doesn't love him in a capacity, would have no reason for wanting him, but he doesn't understand why he would anymore. They were high school sweethearts. High school sweethearts that broke up in the events of horrible travesty.

"What are we doing, Blaine?" Kurt whispers, knows that his eyes are probably too wide and his skin just a little too pallid.

"What do you mean?" But Kurt can see that Blaine knows _exactly _what he's saying – can feel something brewing in his stomach, in the air, that causes him unease.

Something feels wrong.

He just doesn't know if it's him, or Blaine, or simply the weird situation they've found themselves in that's the problem.

Kurt closes his eyes, "you know what I mean."

It's quiet until Blaine lets out a little sigh. His fingers are no longer playing with Kurt's bangs, and when he moves he drags his legs away from Kurt's.

When Kurt's finally regained some sense of composure – when the feelings that are swirling around him aren't as precedent, he opens his eyes again. Blaine's focus is now on his hands twisting together in his lap – a nervous habit that Kurt remembers from Dalton.

He looks up suddenly, locking his eyes to Kurt's. There's hesitance there, a slight waver in the confidence of his eyes. "I love you." It's in his voice too, leaking around the edges and running along the vowels.

"You loved who I was." Blaine deflates then, his shoulders hunching just a little bit. It's not much, but it's noticeable to Kurt. "And I loved you too."

The man with dark hair nods, biting his full bottom lip. "I think I thought that maybe if I saw you again, despite the fact that such a long time had passed, you'd still be the same boy that I adored more than anything else. A boy still astounded by romance and would chew his right arm off for an Alexander McQueen jacket." Blaine's lips twist, and although there is a bitterness to it, there is a soft acceptance as well.

"Four years is a long time."

Blaine looks up now, his lips still full with that bittersweet, turned-up lift. "It is." He agrees softly.

Eventually they get out of bed, awkward shuffles around each other and mellow smiles. There was tension in the air – although eventually dissipating the longer the shadows from the sun became – that was stifling the more it was focused on.

The day was spent the same way the others previous to it were. Easily made meals eaten in the relaxation of the living room while watching trashy reality TV. They took a walk at the park, Kurt hearing the clicks of cameras but deciding not to say anything about it and instead just enjoyed the feeling of Blaine's shoulder knocking against his, and the bush of his fingertips against Kurt's own.

When they got home from their late night stroll, only quiet words are exchanged before they go to their respective rooms.

Once again, Blaine ends up in Kurt's room. And once again, they end up wrapped around each other in their sleep.

It's a week later when Kurt is sitting on a bar stool, going over some of the papers (news articles and scripts that Serena had emailed him) that are spread out in front of him.

Blaine shuffles in eventually, the noise of the TV shutting off coming from the living room preceding him.

"Hey," Kurt says without looking up. "I was getting ready to start dinner. What did you want?"

"Cheeseburgers?" Blaine asks, a hopeful lilt to his voice. Kurt glances up with an amused tilt to his eyebrows while fighting off a grin.

"If you had it your way, the only thing we would ever eat would be some form of cow."

"Just because you don't appreciate the fine arts of beef, doesn't mean that I can't crave it every now and then."

"Just because you don't appreciate the fine arts of _food _doesn't mean that I have to suffer through steak and burgers every week."

Blaine raises his hands up in defeat. "Fine. Does spaghetti sound good?"

"Spaghetti sounds wonderful." Kurt gets up from his spot, collecting the papers and setting them on the table.

Blaine takes his vacated spot at the counter and picks up a book. "With meatballs?"

Kurt can't help the laugh that bubbles from him.

Eventually dinner is finished and Kurt makes them sit at the table to eat for once. Now that he's finally gotten the use of his entire body back, he doesn't like to stay cooped up on the couch or his bed. He's going over the papers in more depth when Blaine clears his throat in a way clearly intended to get his attention.

Kurt glances up, finding Blaine's eyes pinned on him intently. It's intense in a different way than Kurt is used to, causing a nervous prickle at the top of his spine.

"I actually . . . have some news."

"Oh?" Kurt hopes his tone sounds light and not _too _interested. He picks up his fork to twirl through the pasta.

"I'm going back to New Haven tomorrow."

"Oh." Kurt knows his eyes are wide. He knows that his breath just came out in a loud breath – too loud to be considered easy-going.

"I know I should have told you a lot sooner," Blaine says quickly. "I just didn't know how and then it just got easier to keep it a secret and I didn't know how to even bring it up."

"Blaine." Kurt says, cutting off Blaine's rambling nonsense. "I knew you would have to eventually." _I was just hoping it would be later rather than sooner. _

And Kurt _did _know. He knew that eventually Blaine would have to go back to his home from his extended, nearly half-year vacation. Because while he wished he was, Blaine wasn't a part of Kurt's life. Not anymore.

They finish dinner with no other words uttered. Kurt focuses on his papers – although he would hardly be able to tell you what they all meant when he was done – while Blaine scarfs down the rest of his noodles and then collects both of their dishes.

When Kurt finally gives up the façade of reading and shuffling through pages, he finds Blaine in the living room, leaning over a book with his reading glasses perched on his nose.

"I'm going to head to bed." Kurt says softly. He flips the lamp on near Blaine and then flips the rest of the lights in the apartment off and then stands at the room between the hallway and living room, contemplating.

Thinking about what he wants to say, how he should say it. If he wants to say anything at all.

He does want to say something – he wants to scream it – but he won't, so he turns on his socked feet and heads down to his bedroom, shutting the door almost silently. He hovers for just a moment, before cracking it just a smidge, enough to look out and see the glow of the lamp from the living room, and Blaine's toes peeking out from the blanket he has draped on his lap.

Instead of thinking, thinking about what he should and what he shouldn't, he strips and changes into pajama's, after a moment deciding to forego his usual top. Then he crawls between the sheets and under the warm, downy comforter and clenches his eyes closed tight.

He debates actually trying to go to sleep, but in the end decides it's a stupid thing to even contemplate.

Kurt lays there for what seems like eternity, but can really only be about an hour, before he hears the living room lamp click off and the padding of feet across the hardwood floor in the hallway. They stop at his door and his breath catches in his throat before he evens it back out, pulling the comforter up just a tad further on his shoulder.

Blaine pushes the door open enough to slip inside, and then closes it once he's in.

"Kurt?" He whispers, clearly making sure not to wake the other man if he is actually sleeping.

Kurt doesn't answer, just keeps with the front of sleep.

Blaine eventually makes his way to the bed, pulling the blankets back and sliding in behind Kurt. When his arm comes into contact with Kurt's bare waist, he sucks in a quick breath.

Before he can say anything else, Kurt twists in his arms and cups his cheek, quickly capturing his lips in a kiss.

Blaine tries to break it, to ask what Kurt is doing, but Kurt is incessant. He just pushes in harder, biting at Blaine's bottom lip, making him gasp and letting Kurt have access into his mouth.

He lets it go on for a while, letting Kurt shove his tongue into Blaine's mouth and dragging across his. But eventually Kurt feels him pull back again, this time letting him go. Instead he focuses on dragging his teeth across Blaine's neck – sucking and nipping at every inch of skin exposed to him.

"Kurt," Blaine gasps. "Kurt, what are you doing?"

"If you have to ask then it really _has _been a while for you." Kurt whispers, earning a shaky moan from Blaine after licking up to his lobe and biting softly. He can feel Blaine hard against his thigh and gently sways himself to press just a little harder against him.

Blaine gasps again, thrusting his hips up before seeming to come back to himself. "No. No, Kurt look at me."

Kurt sighs an impatient huff but complies. Blaine's eyes are wide with lust, the pupils blown until the iris is almost completely hidden by black.

"What are you doing?" This time he says it with more solidity – a firmer tone to his voice.

Kurt closes his eyes, a blush staining the tops of his cheeks a dusty pink. "I . . . I want –"

"What do you want Kurt?" Blaine whispers, his voice soft but loud in the dark room.

Kurt's eyes flash open, staring into Blaine's with a certainty that only confirmed everything he was thinking. And he knows, _know _that it's cheesy – "I want _you_."

Blaine's eyes close. He looks defeated. "Okay."

"Okay?" It hadn't been the answer that Kurt had been expecting to hear – he had been ready to fight it out until he got his way.

Instead of answering, Blaine nods and then recaptures Kurt's lips in a kiss. It's gentle and sweet, unlike the one Kurt had initiated. The kiss moves slowly, just a press of lips before it becomes more. Then there are moans and teeth and tongues fighting and twisting.

Kurt rolls them so that he is on top, his legs straddling over Blaine's as he moves to bite and lick at Blaine's neck.

Blaine rakes his fingers up and down Kurt's bare back, causing Kurt to shiver and delicate goose bumps to rise on his skin. When his fingers come into contact with the scar that runs along Kurt's arm, Blaine freezes.

"What? Blaine, what is it?" Kurt asks, his breath nearly ragged and still occasionally pressing kisses to Blaine's flushed chest.

"Is this . . . Is this too much for you?"

It takes Kurt a moment to figure out what he was talking about. But eventually, it dawns on him and he lets out a small laugh. "No. Don't worry about that."

"But I don't want you to be –"

"Stop." Kurt says firmly, pressing his palm flat on Blaine's chest. "That doesn't affect me anymore. I wouldn't be doing this if I thought it would. I . . . I don't want to be defined by that moment of my life."

Blaine nods again, shakily, and Kurt leans down to press a kiss to his lips.

Blaine's lips were different than Sebastian's. They were softer but more eager, pressing but not overbearing. The noises he made were different from Sebastian's – soft gasping breaths and low moans. Blaine's body was different than Sebastian's. Shorter, but more compact. Tight in places and soft in others.

Blaine was nothing _like_ Sebastian. Not in any way. Of course, Kurt had heard about how people sometimes would have flashbacks that lead to panic attacks when trying to be intimate after they were attacked in the way that he was. But that wasn't a problem for Kurt – he knew the difference between the two. He knew that Blaine would never hurt him.

Kurt trails his hands down, brushing at Blaine's sides and teasing at his pelvis, before finally he trails over Blaine's cock through his pants.

"_Fuck_, Kurt." Blaine groans, his hips stuttering up, trying to get Kurt to stop teasing.

"Patience." Kurt whispers, nipping at the skin just above Blaine's rosy nipple.

They move differently than they used to. They've matured, they know what they like, know what they _want_ in ways two teenagers can't. That's not to say that it's not still awkward at times and that they don't still fumble.

It's different than it used to be. They're not two boys in love – two boys whose entire lives were focused around the other.

But it's better. When Blaine lays him down on the bed after clothes are shed. There's a glint in his eyes that makes Kurt's stomach twist and his heart _pound._ It's better that they know who they each individually are now.

There's love, of course there is when it's Kurt and Blaine, especially when it's _KurtandBlaine._ But it's not world revolving, not as intense as before. It's mind _clearing _in ways, not enough in others.

Blaine's hands are gentle, eliciting sighs and gasps from Kurt's parted lips. Then there's lube, cold on heated skin, and Blaine's below Kurt now – eyes twisted up in pleasure as Kurt works his fingers in him gracefully but with just enough urgency.

They cry Blaine gives as Kurt finds that spot makes it just as blissful to Kurt as it is to Blaine.

"Ready. I'm ready." Blaine groans into the crease of his elbow, arm thrown over his face.

A condom, more lube. Then Kurt's sliding in, and this part Kurt remembers – how good Blaine feels, tight and hot wrapped around him. Like everything in Blaine never wants Kurt to leave.

Blaine's hands are fisting the sheets underneath him, sliding up the bed with every thrust of Kurt's hips into him. When Kurt leans forward, taking both of Blaine's hands into his own, entwining all 10 fingers so they're palm to palm, pressing his arms into the bed, Blaine lets out a cry of pleasure so loud Kurt is certain his entire apartment hears.

"There, Kurt, there. Oh _god._"

His voice, wrecked and low, makes heat _pull _in Kurt's stomach. He kisses him firmly on his rose red lips, gasping when he runs out of air quickly, not removing his lips from Blaine's even as they pant together – sharing the same air.

"Blaine," Kurt whines, high and breathless. Because that's what Blaine does to him, no matter what or when or where they are, Blaine takes his breath away. He always has, and that will never change.

"Close. Close, so close, _Kurt_, Kurt."

"Come on, Sweetheart. Come for me."

Blaine's brow twists up, his eyebrows high and his eyes open wide, refusing to break eye contact for even a moment. His body goes taught, every muscle going tight as he lets out a long, unbroken moan, his eyes watering and Kurt's breath _hurts _as he drags it in sharp and too quick.

The beauty of Blaine, his sparkling of his eyes, his long throat, combined with the increased tightness around Kurt is what does it. He follows Blaine quickly, succumbing to the bliss – seeing stars of hazel green.

When Kurt comes down from his high, he realizes that he's collapsed on Blaine – Blaine's come between their stomachs and chests in a way that should really make Kurt want to _move_ – with Blaine's arms wrapped around him as tight as he can, and Kurt's head resting in the crook of Blaine's neck.

Kurt adjusts, pulling himself free from Blaine, pressing a soft kiss to Blaine's throat when he lets out an unpleased whine at the action.

Once he's tied off the condom and tossed it toward the trash, he pulls the comforter up around their sweat-chilled bodies and fits into the curve of _Blaine_, Blaine solid and arm behind him, his arms wrapped around Kurt in a way that screams _safe, _and _I'm here._

He drifts to sleep with Blaine's breath on the back of his neck and their hands entwined – resting on his heart.

When he wakes the sun is just beginning to drift in through the heavy curtains over the window. There's no longer a body pressed to his, no longer another person in the bed.

The apartment's silent. Goosebumps break out along Kurt's skin. He twists himself around in the blankets, facing where Blaine had been only hours before.

In the indention, the place where Blaine's head of curls had rested, there's a slip of paper. On that paper, there's one line. An address.

Kurt smiles, holds the paper to him as he traces the place a hazel-eyed man had lain.

* * *

**(A/N: 2) Only the epilogue to go, lovies. I really want to start my gratitude speech here, but I figure I better save it for after the story's finished up, so you'll have to wait until then.**

**YAY FOR SMUT! Lovie, fluffy, smut but still smut! :D**

**I just really hope you guys enjoyed it, and a big thank you for sticking with me for this long. And to those just joining in now: I hope you enjoy. (:**

**Love, glitter, and boys in boxer-briefs,**

**Melanie M.**


	20. Epilogue

**(A/N: 1) *Eyes full of tears* I'll leave the wonderfully long author's note for the end of this. Sound good? Sounds good.**

**Rating:** M

**Disclaimer:** Ryan Murphy & Co. denied my wish for partial custody of Glee. Cue ugly sobbing.

**Warnings:** Klangst, Dark Themes, Non-Con, Language, M/M in later chapters.

* * *

**My Only Sunshine**

**Epilogue**

Being in love isn't easy. It can be difficult, it can hurt, and it can ruin a person for the rest of their life. But there are those moments, those wonderful, breathtaking moments, that make loving another person so worth it.

When your mother would tuck you in at night, and sing you a song.

When your father would pat your back and tell you how proud he is.

When your sibling, or your cousin, or a friend would look up to you, admire you, and let you know.

When the love of your life, that person that you want to spend the rest of your life with, wants the same thing.

Kurt had that once. In the form of flirty duets, late night phone calls, two hour car rides, top 40's hits mixing in with his Broadway- heavy playlists, and red and yellow roses. For a very long time, too long, Kurt had thought that was gone forever.

It's not the same as it was, and it will _never _go back to being what it was in previous years. They're different people now, and that's what makes it better.

It had been a note left on a soft, downy pillow in the early rays of the morning. An address that said so much more than a simple location. Because Kurt could find a way of contacting or finding Blaine any way that he wanted. But this was Blaine giving Kurt the chance – the option – of doing what _he _wanted.

It was all up to him.

Which is what made the decision to actually do it so difficult. Kurt knew what he wanted, obviously, but how did he want to obtain it? Just show up in the bleak of the night or the early dawn with a shouted "surprise!" and a quick hug?

It wasn't a throwaway thought, this was a life decision.

On one hand, Kurt had made a life for himself in LA. He was a big name now, or getting that anyways, and soon he would be one of the most coveted actors in Hollywood. Kurt had friends here, an entire social standing that he actually enjoyed most of the time.

Which made everything so much more complicated – how serious did they want to make this?

For a month, two weeks, four days, and seven hours, Kurt didn't even touch the slip of paper with the address on it. He didn't look at it, although he thought about it nearly constantly.

He still called Blaine. They didn't speak about it, although the underlying current was still there, and it worked for a while. The two of them worked as they always had, and it was normal.

It was the normality that did it, in the end.

…

_**Lindsay Peterson, People, March 23**_

_Famous for his role in Fashion's Night Out, Kurt Hummel has been big in not only the gossip magazines but the local news as well. Recently, I had the opportunity to talk about just what happened late in the night when he was cornered and so quickly his night went from fab to drab to eventually hospital._

_**Peterson: **__Can you explain to everyone what exactly happened?_

_**Hummel: **__I was walking home late one night and I heard some noises from behind me. I turned down a street to see if they would leave or go another way, but it turned out the person had an intent to hurt me._

_**P: **__You were in the hospital for a little while, weren't you?_

_**H: **__For more than a little while. It seemed like forever. I went through a surgery and then recovery. When I was finally released it seemed like walking straight to heaven._

_**P: **__Someone was there to help you, of course, wasn't there?_

_**H: **__My family and friends have been really wonderful about the entire thing, yes. My father and the rest of them flew from Ohio the night everything happened._

_**P: **__Also someone of romantic interest as well, correct?_

_**H: **__Don't be silly. I'm sure that would be all over the news if that were the case._

_So it looks like Mr. Hummel will be playing coy about his relationship (in whatever form they might be) with the curly haired man that was brought into the picture back when the special on Kurt Hummel was released in the magazines._

_Oh well, as long as our favorite Fashion Night Outer is happy and sated, we will be happy and sated as well. For now._

…

With an address pressed to his clammy palm, Kurt presses in on the doorbell of the small home. There are things shuffling, and a voice calling out, "Just a minute!"

Kurt waits, shoving one hand in his pocket while the other fiddles with his bag.

The door opens – the smell of vanilla and chai tea wafting out with the woman dressed in purple. Kurt smiles, a little frail and maybe too soft, but enough to let her know he isn't here for blood.

"Kurt?"

"Can I come in?"

Mercedes slowly nods, the expression of shock pulling at her face as she moves back with the door so that he can step inside. "What brings you all the way to Chicago?"

Kurt doesn't know where to start, "I just wanted to talk with you about some things."

Mercedes eyes him cautiously, but bring him to the living room of her home nonetheless. "I just made some coffee. Do you want some?"

Kurt agrees and she goes off to fetch two cups, leaving him alone to admire the touches made from what he can see. It's weird – not knowing anything about a woman who used to be so close to him. He didn't even know if she was dating anyone.

She comes back shortly, the mugs creating a heavenly scent. Kurt smiles appreciatively to her before she takes a seat.

"So you want to . . . Talk?" There's a nervous lilt to her voice.

Kurt sets his cup down gently, and then softly takes out a file from his bag. He opens it to show the contents – magazine clip outs and a statement from the editor. When he looks back up, Mercedes has wide eyes trained on him.

"Please don't be mad." She whispers.

He had been – so utterly frustrated and angry that he'd wanted to take the first flight out to Chicago – but he'd waited until he was calm because this woman meant more to him than that. And they both deserved explanations.

"I'm not – I'm not mad. I promise. I'm just . . . Shocked?" Kurt picks up his mug and traces the rim of it lightly with his finger. "We used to be so close."

Something flashes in Mercedes eyes, "We _used _to be. And then you went off and never talked to me again. I mean, I thought I was your best friend. I thought we told each other everything."

Kurt raises an eyebrow at her. "So you send in some of the most personal photos and stories that you can come up with to a tabloid?"

She looks down, avoiding his gaze. "I don't know what I was thinking. I tried to get the pictures and stuff back, I really did, but they wouldn't let me – told me it was a done deal and that the stories were selling too well to take them off the market."

"I just don't understand why you held a grudge for so long and so viciously."

"I didn't understand why you disappeared without any of us knowing where you were. Just leaving Blaine like that." Her gaze shifts up with suddenly tearful eyes. "None of us . . . None of us knew what happened. Hardly anyone knows _now _even."

The way she said it – like she knew everything that had happened – informed Kurt of enough. "Who told you?"

Mercedes frown, if possible, turns sadder. "I had to find out from Quinn, who heard it from Santana."

Kurt mentally cursed the raven-haired Latina in his mind. Of course she would.

"I wish I could've been there for you. And I wish I could've even been there for when he attacked you a few months ago. I wish I could've kept him away from all of us before and after you left, and I wish I had never sent in those photographs." Her voice was soft, but forceful. "But I can't take anything back, and I just want you to know how _sorry_ I am for it all."

He leans in and pulls her closer for a hug, rubbing a hand down her back comfortingly – just like he used to. "I know."

…

_**Janet Morris, Outlook, June 2 – Interview with actor Kurt Hummel**_

_**Morris: **__In the last few years we've really seen a lot of great things come from you. Different movies, both staring, supporting, and cameo roles, and you've been one of the biggest hits in the tabloids. Did you ever thing it would get this big?_

_**Hummel: **__ My fame getting this big? Oh, never. Sometimes I still think that I'm that rejected 17 year old boy back in Lima, Ohio rewatching Housewives and that this is all a dream. I love it, obviously, but it's never something that I even allowed myself to dream of._

_**M: **__And now? Is this what you want to do with your life?_

_**H: **__Absolutely. I plan on sticking in the industry until I'm forcibly removed._

_**M: **__Well I'm sure _that _will never happen._

_**H: **__You never know._

_**M: **__So what's next for you? Any scripts that you've been taking looks at? Offers being made?_

_**H: **__I couldn't tell you if there were, but no. At the moment I'm taking a bit of down time. After events a few months back, I decided to take some time just be me. Last month I got to go visit my family back in my old town and that was fun. My brother and his high school sweetheart just got married. Sometime around the disasters of spring, I decided that I want to be present in their lives as well._

_**M: **__ You have a close friend that we've heard about, and he's been in the press alongside you. Blaine Anderson._

_**H: **__Blaine and I go way back._

_**M: **__Since high school, correct?_

_**H: **__Yeah, we met because of a show choir competition actually. I got sent to spy on their group._

_**M: **__We haven't seen you out and about with him recently. Are you two still close?_

_**H: **__Oh, definitely. He's my best friend – as is his sister [Coraline Gallagher]. He just has a life that he had to get back to that's not located in sunny California._

_**M: **__Hopefully we'll see more of him soon?_

_**H: **__Who knows what might happen._

…

The house was a pale yellow. The shutters matched the door, a weird shade of blue, no doubt picked on a whim.

It was as perfectly imperfect as the man that lived there.

Kurt presses the doorbell, hearing it echo through the halls and rooms of the home.

He waits, as patiently as he can, the stillness of the house not doing anything to still his nerves. If he wasn't there . . .

The door opens, revealing a disheveled Blaine in his thick-rimmed glasses and curly hair a mess atop his pillow-creased face.

"Kurt?" His sleepy eyes open wide.

"If you were taking a nap, I can come back." Kurt teases softly. Then he's got his arms full and the messy curls are tickling his nose. It feels like _home._

…

_Actor __**Kurt Hummel **__said to be taking a short vacation as he pauses the search for new roles. "I don't want to miss out on important things in my life." Hummel stated. He is reportedly spending time in New Haven, Connecticut._

…

It's just after 11:00 at night as they lay on the bed – the tangled sheet s laying at their feet as they curl into one another – Blaine pressing kisses to the top of Kurt's hair occasionally as Kurt traces a nonexistent pattern on Blaine's chest.

"I was only planning on staying for a couple weeks, you know." Kurt mumbles, his voice still a tad gravely.

"Oh really?" Blaine's voice sounds amused, but Kurt is far too content to glance up and check.

"Really. Two weeks and I was out of here."

The entire month of July had passed already, fading into mid-August before either of them had known what was going on.

"I wish you could stay forever."

Kurt closes his eyes, pressing a soft kiss to the downy hair underneath his check. "Me too."

…

_Actor __**Kurt Hummel **__spotted at the shopping district, Rodeo Drive, with past fellow cast mate and reported "bff", __**Coraline Gallagher**__. Hummel sports a gleaming vest with skin tight skinnies and a magnificent chain bowtie. Gallagher shows off her toned legs in a flowing white dress and emerald accessories. The two '__**FNO' **__stars still know how to dress to impress._

…

Because he _is _an actor, because his Public Relations team says so, and because Serena is so damn pushy, Kurt begins going through some of the scripts that the assistants had been pushing his way since June.

There are quite a few, and it takes a while to find one that he actually feels something toward. But eventually he does – as he always hopefully will – and then it's a mess of memorizing lines until the audition and being wishful that the producers and directors actually liked him.

He doesn't get the part, and he doesn't get the part that he wanted _after _that either. But eventually a script comes along, one of a serious movie, that leaves Kurt breathless after reading just bits and pieces, that has him craving for the role and discovery of who the cast would be, and he _does_ get that one.

Before he knows it, he's swamped with filming schedules and making plans with new coworkers and potential friends. He's enjoying himself and enjoying the excitement of movie making once again.

The months pass swiftly, summer turning into fall, the wind biting even with the thick layers of sweaters until eventually even in LA they were getting dustings of snow.

Everything is being pushed to the side, as much as Kurt hates to admit it. Phone calls are piling up, he hasn't seen his dad in ages, Rachel is officially pregnant and he hasn't gotten a chance to see either her or Finn, he'd taken Coraline out for dinner an entire week ago, and he was fitting in some form of Public Relations every day.

He hadn't spoken to Blaine for a month.

Kurt knows that he should – and it crosses his mind at any given moment – but . . . Well, but.

It had started at the end of his visit back in August. It was an offhand comment, one that Blaine made purposely light, but Kurt could see in his eyes how much it meant to him.

"You could just stay you know."

But Kurt knew that he couldn't. He'd made a life for himself out in L.A., a damn good one that he enjoyed and he _thrived _in. He couldn't . . . He _wouldn't _give that up.

It had gotten worse from there, mostly on Kurt's part. He dwelled on things, letting thoughts eat him alive until they were excruciating and painful to deal with. It wasn't really anything that Blaine was doing; it was his lack of it.

It resulted in restless sleep, and no outgoing phone calls.

They were losing each other in the chaos of life.

…

The night had just settled in when Kurt left location, after his day of filming. Usually he would stay around a bit longer to chat with the rest of the cast and warm up a bit in his trailer before headed out, but tonight he simply wanted to get home, make a nest of blankets and for the smell of warm tea to fill his sinuses.

So he drove home quickly, settled into his apartment cozily, and picked some mind numbing television to watch after changing into the most comfortable sweats he owned.

A knock sounded on the door.

The fact that he hadn't been expecting anyone makes him slightly wary, but he knows that anyone who wasn't okayed to enter wouldn't be allowed up to his apartment. So he grumbles and sits his mug on the table, then wraps his duvet around his shoulders to make the long and torturously cold journey to his front door.

It's Blaine. Blaine with the most sheepish smile on his face, and a suitcase next to his left leg and two cardboard boxes next to his right.

"You're here." Kurt whispers.

Blaine gathers him in his arms and Kurt feels warmer than any duvet will ever make him feel.

"I'm here."

…

An online blog.

_**RETURN OF THE MYSTERY MAN**_

_Okay, so we do know who the "mystery man" is now, but the fact that he's suddenly back around is cause for some big titles. Kurt Hummel was seen getting coffee yesterday morning, a huge smile on his face and a curly-headed man on his arm._

_We know better than to make assumptions, but _come on._ Look at those smiles. Blaine Anderson's (dubbed "mystery man") entire face is positively lit up and Kurt's doing the grin so big that his adorable itty bitty teeth show._

_Can we talk for a moment about what an attractive couple they're going to be (if they not already are)._

_I can't wait until they make it press-official. And not just because my salary will go up – hint hint to my boss – but because while Kurt Hummel has been a favorite for a while, no one has ever seen him this absolutely happy. A good, honest man like that deserves someone to love them. Someone to care for them and to make them stop when they're working too hard. _

_Oh man. Hits yeah right in the alone button._

_All jokes aside, I'm happy for them both._

Deena Tucker, January 11.

…

A red-carpet interview.

"Kurt! Kurt, over here!" Hi, I'm Michael with Success Today." Two men enter the view of the camera to stand with the one already there handing a microphone.

"Hi, Michael. How are you?" Kurt Hummel, the star of the night, greets him warmly, leaning in slightly to hear better.

"I'm doing great. How are you enjoying your night?"

Kurt grins, "It still seems kind of surreal. But it's amazing and I'm _so proud _of the work that everyone on the movie team put into it."

They chat a bit more, a little about a charity organization and about the suit that Kurt is wearing.

"Are we going to be introduced to your guest to this evenings events?"

Kurt's smile widens, just a tad, and his eyes sparkle brighter even in the flashes of camera lights. "Of course! This is my boyfriend, Blaine Anderson."

…

The fans.

_Ajdklf;aslfdkajld;?! Did anyone else just see that?_

_How are they so adorable? The way that Blaine smiles at him like he's so proud and Kurt keeps sneaking glances back at him because he loves him so much and they're going to get married and have babies and a farm and pet zebra's and make art and have hot sex._

_I hate them.  
*I hate that I can't have them for myself._

_Kurt has been my favorite celebrity for a very long time. Seeing him so happy with someone (especially when that someone is as amazing as the one that he found) makes me happy as well._

_When are we going to see a kiss?_

_KLAINE._

_#1000000 percent done._

_So is someone going to fic something about what happens _after _the premiere party? Because I would so read that._

…

The family.

"This isn't going to end well."

Kurt rolls his eyes, suppressing an amused grin. "You are going to be fine."

Blaine shakes his head vehemently. "No I won't. I'm either going to die at the hands of a very large and scary man, or my heart is going to give out before that."

The seatbelt light finally goes off and everyone stands, beginning to scramble for their belongings.

"You need to calm down. What's got you so worked up anyways? You saw him when they flew in for the accident."

Blaine shoots him a half-exasperated, half-"we were never supposed to talk about that again", and fully percent panicked.

"But I wasn't as your long-term _boyfriend_ then. I was the lovely ex who still loved you but wouldn't do anything about it because Burt Hummel has a gun and I'm too slow to run away from it."

Kurt laughs, handing over Blaine's bag to him before sliding his own down from the overhead compartment.

"All I'm saying," Blaine continues. "Is that he's a lot more terrifying than you think he is."

"Obviously," Kurt calls over his shoulder.

"Smartass."

"What was that?" Kurt's glaring at him now.

"I like your ass?" Blaine tries with a sheepish shrug of shoulders.

"Much better."

The cool air from the airport feels refreshing after the stuffiness of the plane. Kurt begins craning his neck, looking for plaid.

Blaine spots them first, Finn's tall head and dopey grin high over the rest of the crowds.

"There." He says softly, gently pushing Kurt in the direction. The moment Kurt spots his father his pace picks up until he's nearly running through the crowds. Blaine watches fondly as Kurt throws himself into his father's arms, sharing a big hug.

Kurt pulls back to hug Carole. Blaine fidgets awkwardly, thankful when Rachel squeals and runs to give him a hug, Finn picking him up in a rough hug after.

And then he's face to face with Burt Hummel – dressed in an open flannel and a baseball cap.

Blaine's voice fails him.

"Blaine." Burt says gruffly in greeting.

"M-Mr. Hummel. It's . . . nice to see you again."

Burt stares at him for a moment before his lips curl up into a smile and he lets out a loud laugh. "Come here kid, give the old man a hug."

So Blaine does, and it's one of the best moments of his life.

…

An announcement.

_The world is abuzz with the newest celebrity engagement. Actor __**Kurt Hummel **__and boyfriend of three years, __**Blaine Anderson**__, announced that they do indeed plan to get hitched. Last week we saw Hummel with a ring around his finger, and then a few days later we saw Anderson with a matching one._

_How did it happen, you ask?_

_We got the lovely couple in for an interview for the inside scoop. Katherine Blake, March 22._

_Katherine: So, who asked who?_

_Kurt: He asked me._

_Katherine: How did it happen?_

_Blaine: Well, I asked on the anniversary of the day that we met. It was simple, because that's how we like things. It was around close friends and wonderful family._

_Katherine: It sounds perfect for you two. Any plans set for the wedding yet?_

_Kurt: I'm taking charge of all plans, open for opinions from my groom of course, but I am the more aesthetically pleasing when it comes to designing things._

_Blaine: It was _one _party, Kurt. And I even admitted that I could've done better._

_Kurt: You ordered a clown, Blaine._

_Katherine: You two are going to work out just fine._

…

A life.

With the apartment finally quiet, and the TV volume low, the two men settled down onto the couch to curl into each other.

"I feel like I could sleep for months."

"I feel like I could sleep for _years._" Blaine groans.

Kurt laughs, pressing his nose into Blaine's neck. "It's worth it."

Blaine hums and presses a kiss to Kurt's hair. "So worth it."

They doze for a bit, all they ever seemed to be able to do anymore, before a soft wail came from a room down the hall.

Blaine sighs deeply. "My turn."

Kurt nods, leaning away far enough for Blaine to slip out from underneath him. He listens to Blaine padding down the hall, and the soft creak of the door as he opens it, followed by his soft whispers.

He floats in the realm of almost-asleep for a while until he realizes that Blaine still isn't back. He waits a few more moments, and then hauls himself up, blearily making his own way to the room.

Blaine's still in there – that beautiful individual who managed to fix a broken man.

His back is to the doorway, cradling their new baby girl in his arms. His voice is soft, but still carries over quiet stillness of the room.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.

You make me happy, when skies are grey.

You'll never know, dear, how much I love you.

Please don't take my sunshine away."

* * *

**(A/N: 2) Oh my. Oh wow. It's over. It's over and I'm so blessed that all of you hung around and continued to read throughout. Just, thank you. So much. To all of you who stopped in their activities to read this little creation of mine, and to those that actually enjoyed it.**

**Thank you to **HarmonyLover **and **msdarque. **You two have been absolute angels. Those days when I just didn't want to do anything – and got stuck? I would get a long, thought out and wonderful review that encouraged me to keep going. Thank you for that.**

**This has been a long and wonderful journey – I started this story just under a year ago, so it's been with me for a while. Thank you for treating it with delicate hands, and loving it as much as I loved making it.**

**I hope to see you back to read my other writings sometime soon. But for the last time over here in the little corner of My Only Sunshine: much love.**

**Melanie M.**


End file.
